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Boris Johnson believes MPs should not get a pay raise this year, Downing Street said, as MPs called on the government to legislate to prevent the publicly damaging pay increase.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which sets salaries for MPs, is expected to recommend that MPs get a 4.1% raise worth £ 3,300. The move, should it go ahead, is likely to spark public outrage along with an expected public sector wage freeze on spending review later this week.
Johnson’s spokesman said the prime minister had already acted where he had the power to do so and had frozen ministerial salary, but said he did not believe MPs should get a raise.
“The salaries of MPs are obviously decided by an independent body, but under the circumstances, the prime minister does not believe that MPs should receive a pay increase,” the spokesman said.
Ipsa, which was created in the wake of the spending scandal, has a legal obligation to review the pay of MPs in the first year of a parliament, but many MPs have spoken publicly against the possible increase.
John Redwood, a former cabinet minister, tweeted that if a public sector pay freeze is announced, Johnson “should legislate to override the independent MPs pay body that will otherwise pay MPs more in a time of restraint. ”.
Former Minister Steve Baker said: “Ipsa must freeze the payment of deputies if there is a freeze on public sector wages. If necessary, the law should be changed. “
Rachel Maclean, the Transport Minister, also issued a statement saying that MPs should not receive a pay increase. “I strongly believe that now is not the right time for parliamentarians to receive a pay raise,” he said in a statement. “Ipsa must be prevented from trying to grant parliamentarians this salary increase … The government must consider all options to prevent Ipsa from granting this salary increase.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce a new restriction on public sector wages in this week’s review of government spending in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement on the salary restriction is expected to be part of Wednesday’s mini-budget, part of plans to launch a Whitehall savings campaign to address record levels of government borrowing incurred during the crisis.
Senior leaders from 18 of the country’s largest unions warned the chancellor that wage controls during the health emergency could lead to a personnel crisis.
