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| MPs' pay: 11% pay rise 'inappropriate' says minister | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Plans to award MPs an 11% pay rise are "utterly incomprehensible" and should be reconsidered, Treasury Minister Danny Alexander has said. | |
| The parliamentary watchdog Ipsa is expected later this week to recommend a pay rise of £7,600 to £74,000 - to take effect after the 2015 election. | |
| Ipsa does not need to get the agreement of Parliament to bring in the changes. | |
| But Mr Alexander said this would be "wholly inappropriate" at a time of curbs on pay in the public sector. | |
| The rise comes as part of a package of changes to MPs' salary and benefits which would see some allowances scrapped. | |
| MPs currently earn a basic salary of £66,396 but the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is expected to say on Thursday that their pay has fallen behind in recent years and a substantial "one-off" rise is justified. | |
| All three party leaders disagreed with the move when it was first proposed earlier this year but the watchdog is expected to say it will press ahead with the rise - expected to cost the public purse £4.6m. | |
| Mr Alexander, Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, urged the watchdog to reconsider, saying it must take into account public opinion as well as "the wider economic climate and the climate of people's living standards". | |
| 'Preposterous' | |
| It would be "wholly inappropriate for MPs to get such a large pay rise when every other public sector worker sees their pay rises capped at 1%," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr show. | |
| Conservative defence secretary Philip Hammond said he would not personally be accepting the pay increase, saying it was the "not the moment" to do so. | |
| "Whatever the rights and wrongs of whether MPs' pay is too high, too low, comparable to other people, at a time when we are asking people across the public sector - nurses, doctors, teachers - to accept pay restraint, members of Parliament have to be seen to be leading the way," he told BBC Five Live's Pieenar's Politics. | |
| And Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls told the Dermot Murnaghan show on Sky News that the proposed increase was "preposterous" and he could not defend it at a time when people were facing a "cost of living" crisis. | |
| He said the "ridiculous recommendation" made the watchdog - which was created by Parliament in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal in 2009 - look out of touch with people's lives. | |
| Labour MP John Mann said the proposed pay rise was unjustified, tweeting: "MPs should award themselves exactly the same pay increase that other public sector workers get. No more and no less." | |
| Tea and biscuits | Tea and biscuits |
| A Downing street spokeswoman said MPs' pay was "a matter for Ipsa", but added: "The government has submitted its views to Ipsa as part of the body's consultation on MPs' pay. | A Downing street spokeswoman said MPs' pay was "a matter for Ipsa", but added: "The government has submitted its views to Ipsa as part of the body's consultation on MPs' pay. |
| "It made it clear that, while Ipsa is an independent body set up by Parliament, in future decisions on remuneration it expects Ipsa to take into account the government's wider approach to public service pay and pensions. | "It made it clear that, while Ipsa is an independent body set up by Parliament, in future decisions on remuneration it expects Ipsa to take into account the government's wider approach to public service pay and pensions. |
| "We believe that the cost of politics should be going down, not up." | "We believe that the cost of politics should be going down, not up." |
| Prime Minister David Cameron has stopped short of matching the pledge by the other party leaders to reject any extra money, and some Tory MPs support the increase. | |
| But he has said Westminster pay should not rise while others face restraint. | |
| Ipsa previously said it had looked at increasing the current salary of £66,396 to anywhere between £73,365 and £83,430, but opted for a lower figure "in recognition of the current difficult economic circumstances". | Ipsa previously said it had looked at increasing the current salary of £66,396 to anywhere between £73,365 and £83,430, but opted for a lower figure "in recognition of the current difficult economic circumstances". |
| After 2015, it proposes that MPs' wages would increase annually in line with average UK earnings. | After 2015, it proposes that MPs' wages would increase annually in line with average UK earnings. |
| At the same time as recommending a pay rise, the watchdog is also expected to announce a squeeze on pensions and the resettlement grants that MPs are given when they leave Parliament. | |
| The amount that MPs have to contribute to their pensions is set to increase while MPs' final salary scheme is expected to be downgraded to a career average in line with the rest of the public sector. | |
| Other changes would also see a £15 dinner allowance and claims for tea and biscuits scrapped. And it would mean taxpayer-funded taxis were only permitted after 23:00. | |
| There would also be a crackdown on claims made for running second homes, with costs such as TV licences and contents insurance no longer being met. | There would also be a crackdown on claims made for running second homes, with costs such as TV licences and contents insurance no longer being met. |