THURROCK MP Jackie Doyle Price has responded to the news that MPs may be in line for a 11% pay increase
Parliamentary watchdog Ipsa is set to recommend a rise of £7,600 to £74,000, to come in after the 2015 election.
Ipsa is expected to try to temper criticism by announcing a tougher-than-expected squeeze on MPs’ pensions in a bid to cancel out the £4.6 million cost to the public purse.
Ms Doyle-Price went onto Twitter to ask: “Why are so many colleagues talking about the pay rise? We don’t set our pay any more, quite rightly. Challenge IPSA not us.”
Others have defended the pay rise, comparing the MP’s pay level at the moment to a third tier officer at Thurrock Council.
Chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Matthew Sinclair said: “Taxpayers will be furious that the pay rise comes at a time when MPs urge public pay restraint and the chancellor tells us he can’t afford to ease the burden of taxes on hard-pressed households and businesses.
“Ipsa’s own polling and research shows that the current level of pay to be broadly fair and that the public simply do not back the increase.
“This announcement amounts to an unaccountable quango putting up two fingers to taxpayers. The rise must be rejected.”
Chairman of Ipsa, Sir Ian Kennedy defended the plan. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “The current pay level was “not fair to MPs and not fair to the taxpayer”.
“Taxpayers deserve to have an MP who is properly remunerated,”
£2,554,250 – per the Council’s strategy for local services
£500,000 for affordable housing – in Aveley, if required
£500,000 for Education – in Aveley, if required
£1,000,000 for Belhus Leisure Centre – in Aveley
£800,000 for Aveley Village Community Centre – in Aveley
£400,000 for local roads – in Aveley
£500,000 for Treetops School – in Grays which serves local special needs children throughout the Borough.
Perhaps Cllr Anderson briefed her.
MPs want an 11% pay increase. Some aren’t worth a carrot.
Perhaps JDP should have a whip round amongst her fellow Tory MPs for Treetops school for local special-needs children and donate their obscene pay rise to this much-needed school which she is trying to deprive of this benefit
The total package in community benefit created by this project is somewhere in the region of £5 million how can that be bad for the community
Why is Jackie Doyle-Price concerned about a pay rise after the next election – she would need to get re-elected first.
superman, whilst I can understand what you are getting at I think you will find that it is not the MPs that want the 11% pay rise but the IPSA that is pushing this forward, the MPs no longer have a say in what percentage rise they get anymore as they handed this over to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
How they came to that figure in today’s environment of cost cutting is beyond me, however, what i would like to see is MPs taking the moral stance and refusing a pay rise
Lambo – In my opinion your comment that “it is not the MPs who want an 11% pay rise” is incorrect. If you refer to my recent blog you will see that according to an IPSA survey more than two thirds of MPs felt they were underpaid the other third were probably millionaires, the average suggested rate being £86,250p.a. A majority of Tory MPs wanted £96,740, Lib Dems £78,361 and Labour £77,322. A fifth of MPs questioned said they deserved £95,000 or more. In a way you may be right that MPs do not want an 11% increase, they actually want MORE. MPs wringing their hands and proclaiming the pay rise is being “forced” upon them has a hollow wring about it to say nothing of a touch of hypocrisy. The MPs reluctance to accept the rise brings to mind the elected Speaker being “reluctantly dragged” to the Speakers Chair when really he/she is “over the moon” with the appointment and the attendant perks.
Me thinks the MPs doth protest too much.
A point to note the Chairman of IPSA, a so called independent body, is paid £700 per day. IPSA was set up by MPs and could be abolished by MPs, so I suggest that a very highly paid Chair of IPSA is unlikely to upset MPs by imposing a pay freeze or a 1% limited pay rise, that would be like “cutting off his nose to spite his face”.