Boris Johnson suggests MPs should not get pay rise amid Covid crisis

Boris Johnson has suggested that MPs should not receive a pay rise amid mounting speculation that the Chancellor will freeze public sector pay in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said he did not consider that a salary increase for MPs was right in the "current circumstances", adding: "I would point to what the Chancellor said. He said the economy is experiencing significant stress. We've obviously seen a number of redundancies in the private sector."

Mr Johnson's intervention comes after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which sets MPs' pay, last month recommended a hike worth £3,300 from April, taking their annual salary to over £85,000 per year.

The Government has been facing increasing pressure to block the move after it emerged last week that Rishi Sunak is planning to announce a pay cap for millions of public sector workers in Wednesday's Comprehensive Spending Review.

Government sources said an announcement on pay restraint will be part of the mini-budget as Whitehall launches a savings drive to tackle record levels of Government borrowing incurred during the crisis.

Asked whether Mr Johnson was happy for politicians to receive higher wages, his spokesman said: "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."

Mr Johnson has previously announced that ministers would not be getting an increase in their ministerial salaries, a sum paid on top of their wages as MPs which he sets.

However, ministers have so far been reluctant to interfere in the Ipsa process, which was set up in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal and meant to ensure that MPs were not involved in setting their own remuneration.

In its report last month, Ipsa recommended that MPs' pay should continue to be linked to the growth in public sector pay, using the figures for October as a benchmark. That would suggest an inflation-busting increase of around four per cent, to be paid from April.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has already said he did not believe the award should go ahead, calling for the cash to go to key workers instead.

"This year, of all years, we shouldn't have it," Sir Keir said, adding: "That money, if it's available, should be spent on key workers – those who have been on the frontline through this pandemic."

On Monday night, Tory MP Mike Penning, a former minister, tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling on the Government not to bring in a public sector pay freeze, saying those affected had "done the country proud during the pandemic crisis and all too often have gone beyond to call of duty and put their lives at risk".

The motion read: "If such a pay freeze is contemplated, Members of Parliament should be included in such a freeze as they are public sector employees."

Richard Lloyd, Ipsa's interim chairman, has said the body has a statutory duty to review MPs' pay in the first year of each parliament. Ipsa is due to announce its final decision next month.

Mr Sunak's savings drive comes as Government spending has soared in response to the pandemic, with more than £40 billion spent subsidising the wages of up to 9.6 million workers through the furlough scheme.

An extension in the wage subsidy plan until the end of March is expected to cost billions more, on top of more than £210 billion spent on the Government's emergency response to Covid-19 since the crisis began.

Union bosses have reacted angrily to the proposed public sector belt-tightening after Mr Johnson last week announced a generous four-year settlement for the Armed Forces.

It is understood that key NHS staff, including doctors and nurses, will be exempt from the freeze as a result of the frontline role played by healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Frances O'Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said: "Freezing their pay is no way to reward key workers for their service. Unions will fight for the proper pay rise they have earned. Working people must not bear the burden of the crisis."

Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, said: "The Government must do what's right and announce the wage rise staff have more than earned. Anything less risks destroying morale when the entire country is counting on them."

On Monday night, Mr Sunak denied he was heralding a return to austerity after the Scottish National Party (SNP) called for a £98 billion stimulus package to match other countries, including extending furlough until the end of 2021.

In a statement, the SNP MP Ian Blackford said front line health spending should be increased by 6.3 per cent in England to match Scotland's £136 per person.

Mr Sunak said: "Wednesday’s Spending Review will once again demonstrate our commitment to every corner of the UK, building on the extensive support we have provided so far.

"I know people are worried about the months ahead – they don't want to hear about constitutional wrangling, they want to know how we are going to get through this crisis and rebuild our economy, and that's exactly what this Government is focused on."