MPs’ pay fiasco

May 31 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

OVER the past few months, there has been a great deal of discussion over the money paid to our MPs.

Now we learn that some of our representatives are pushing for a rise from £60,000 to £100,000.

The fact that these are the same MPs who are enforcing a pay increase for public workers capped at 3% says a lot about many of them.

Meanwhile, the police who protect us from terrorism and crime have had the backdating of their miserly pay award of under 3% refused.

As many households face growing pressure on their finances, the last thing they want to see is a ruling elite giving themselves increasing amounts of cash.

It’s no wonder that suggestions like this make people more cynical about politicians.

The MPs are said to believe that their salaries have been falling behind other professions and they want a settlement to achieve parity.

What they fail to realise is that they are already very lucky by comparison. They have generous expenses, gold-plated pensions and can earn a redundancy package after serving just one term.

Also, being an MP does not require the special qualifications needed by headteachers or doctors. It does not need any special expertise apart from a way with words (and not always then).

What makes it worse is that they vote for their own pay rises. They do not ask those who vote for them what they should be getting.

We need an independent review body, without political affiliation.