Minister: All MPs should give up their £1,000 pay rise

MPs were today urged to forgo a pay rise of nearly £1,000.

Transport minister Sadiq Khan wrote to residents in his Tooting constituency saying: "Like last year, I won't be accepting this pay rise, or an increase in my ministerial salary.

"At a time when many people in Tooting and throughout the country are having to accept pay freezes I don't think it's appropriate for MPs to accept a pay rise.

"As a collective, MPs need to rebuild trust in the political system, and cut the cost of doing politics'.

I don't think accepting a pay-rise at this moment in time would aid these causes at all." The increase takes pay for MPs to £65,737.

Mr Khan's stance is likely to anger many backbench MPs who are not on his £104.050 salary as a minister. Several have called for their pay to rise to £100,000 to compensate for cuts in allowances following the expenses scandal.

Last week Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg refused the pay rise of 1.5 per cent.
Unions have condemned MPs accepting the rise after Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a one-year pay freeze for the most senior civil servants, NHS managers and GPs.

The Tories are planning a pay freeze for public sector workers earning more than £18,000 if they win the election.

Mr Khan, who attends Cabinet when transport issues are being discussed, also warned the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority not to "water down" proposals to clean up Parliament. Other London MPs, though, criticised aspects of the proposed changes.

Conservative MP for Wimbledon Stephen Hammond, whose wife is his office manager/secretary, argued that MPs should be allowed to continue employing family members.

Islington South and Finsbury Labour MP Emily Thornberry stressed that she had to use a large part of her salary to fund her casework staff and running costs of her constituency office.