MP pay rises £3,300 as thousands lose jobs

Politicians should give extra salary to charity to pacify public amid major recession, says minister

A BUSINESS minister suggested MPS give their planned £3,300 pay rise to charity yesterday, as he branded the increase “inappropriate”.

Nadhim Zahawi hit out at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) after it proposed that MPS’ pay should continue to be linked to the average wage rise for public sector staff.

It is expected to base next year’s pay rise on this month’s public sector three-month annual growth figure of 4.1 per cent. This would leave MPS likely to receive a £3,360 rise, taking their salaries to £85,291. They have had pay rises in each of the past six years.

The move has provoked a backlash among politicians, who are particularly conscious of the public mood in the midst of a major economic recession and waves of redundancies caused by the coronavirus.

Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “I don’t think a pay rise is appropriate. I think it’s a privilege in many ways to serve your country ... it is independent, but I think it’s incumbent on the leadership of the IPSA to also explain to the public why they think this is the right thing to do.

“I would certainly look at donating it to one of my very good causes – maybe the Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford.”

However, Mr Zahawi insisted it was right that the IPSA, which was set up in the wake of the expenses scandal in 2009, continue to set MPS’ salaries.

Lucy Powell, his Labour counterpart, said she would also donate the extra money to charity if i t was awarded and Dehenna Davidson, the Tory MP for Bishop Auckland, said: “This is literally the first I’ve heard of this and I think it’s a bloody stupid decision . . . but here’s my regular reminder that we as MPS do not decide how much we get paid. It’s decided by an independent body – and I think they should have better judgment.” Asked if

the Prime Minister would donate his next annual pay rise, his deputy spokesman told reporters: “I haven’t asked him this morning but obviously the matter of MPS’ pay rises for IPSA.”

Defending the move, Richard Lloyd, the interim chairman of the IPSA, said that the proposal was justified “given the huge economic uncertainties arising from the coronavirus pandemic”.

He said: “We do not think it is right to depart from this approach now.

“We act independently of Parliament and we have a statutory duty to review MPS’ pay in the first year of each parliament.”

However, Jeremy Hutton, a policy analyst at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the campaign group which lobbies for a low-tax society, said: “The IPSA must be tin-eared if it really thinks a pay rise for MPS should be considered this year.

“Public finances are in a parlous state, furlough is coming to an end and unemployment is rising.

“A pay rise in Parliament would be an insult to hard-working taxpayers who’ve had a very tough year.”

However, while public sector pay has risen in recent years, the economic impact of Covid-19 is likely to lead to wage freezes across the sector from 2021 onwards.

With Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, attempting to get the public finances back under control, he has warned that wages among public-sector workers will need to reflect any downturn in the private sector.