MPs demanding pay rise ‘must be on another planet’
Published: 07:30, 24 January 2013
Members of parliament who want large pay rises are “living on a different planet to the rest of us”, according to Gordon Henderson.
He refused to complete a questionnaire sent to all MPs by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority as part of a review on salaries and expenses.
He said: “The vast majority of MPs, like me, thought they had more important things to worry about.
“Our basic salary is about £64,000 which is two and a half times the average salary.
“It’s a perfectly good salary and those people calling for an increase live on a different planet to the rest of us.”
The review’s findings were released last week and revealed that 69% of respondents felt they were underpaid – on average they said they should receive £86,250 a year.
Mr Henderson’s views are a far cry from his predecessor Derek Wyatt, who was the Labour MP for the constituency from 1997 to 2010.
Speaking last week, he said: “I’m of the opinion they are underpaid. When I was an MP I did between 80 to 100 hours of work a week.
“That’s a lot of time. It was never-ending.
“I worked those sort of hours when I was in business and I had substantial six-figure sums.
“I know we are in recession but they do a good job and it’s time to give them a decent salary.
“Most MPs I know and have known work their cotton socks off.”
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Gemma Constable