British Prime Minister David Cameron has signaled that he will back members of parliament (MPs) in their bid to increase their salaries amid enforcing tough cuts on public sector workers.
David Cameron stopped short of ruling out a rise in MPsâ„¢ salaries in the face of intense lobbying by Conservative MPs.
It came after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) announced that it is planning to recommend a pay rise for MPs as high as £10,000.
The Prime Minister said he had no idea about the proposal until itâ„¢s made public, noting that he may not be able to block that decision since Ipsa is an independent body.
“Our views – Ipsa asked our views and we gave our views – were very much reflecting the current pay restraint. But Ipsa is independent, it has to make its recommendation. I don’t see any sense in commenting on its recommendation until we know what it is. I have no idea”, Cameron told reporters before leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Cameron, however, indicated that if Ipsa does recommend a pay rise, MPs may have to lose other benefits. This could mean cuts in their pensions.
This is while that head of opposition Labour party Ed Miliband took a tough stance vis-Ã -vis the Ipsa proposal, saying that MPs should receive no more than a 1% rise (£660) to keep them in line with public sector workers.
The coalition governmentâ„¢s position added to the confusion over the issue when Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said the government was powerless to challenge decisions by Ipsa.
“It’s not in my control, it’s in the control of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. It isn’t even in the control of MPs themselves. What we do control, which is ministers’ pay, we are controlling rigorously and we are controlling and we are cutting back on the cost of running the government”, Maude told Sky News.
Meanwhile, some MPs said they are ready to reject the generous pay rise if it is recommended by the forthcoming independent review.
“The last thing MPs should be talking about is their own pay rise”, said Keith Vaz, the Labour chair of the home affairs select committee.
Tim Loughton, the former Tory education minister, also said he would reject a large increase: “It would be completely inappropriate for us to accept it at the moment.”
Labour sources said any pay rise had to be in line with the level of increases in the public sector generally – a rise that is currently running at around 1%.
MOL/HE
Republished with permission from:: Press TV