BORIS Johnson believes MPs should not “in the current circumstances” receive an annual pay rise, Downing Street has said.
The declaration from the Prime Minister comes as Rishi Sunak is expected in his spending review on Wednesday to announce a pay freeze for more than five million public sector workers. At the weekend, the Chancellor made clear that it was “entirely reasonable” to consider pay policy in the context of the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which sets MPs’ salaries, has reportedly recommended MPs - whose basic wage is £81,932 - should get a 4.1 per cent increase worth £3,300.
However, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said the PM had already frozen ministerial pay and did not believe MPs should get a rise.
“MPs’ salaries are obviously decided by an independent body but, given the circumstances, the PM doesn’t believe MPs should be receiving a pay rise,” the spokesman explained.
Asked what circumstances he was referring to, the spokesman replied: “I would point to what the Chancellor said yesterday during his interview on Andrew Marr. The economy is experiencing significant stress. We’ve obviously seen a number of redundancies in the private sector.”
Asked if the PM’s decision to volunteer his view on MPs getting a pay rise had anything to do with the Government about to freeze pay in the public sector, he added: “That would be a matter for the Chancellor, it wouldn’t be for me. As you know the spending review will be set out on Wednesday.”
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