MPs are demanding that their £65,000-a-year salary be raised to a six-figure sum to ensure parliament attracted “quality” people.
In an attempt to reform MPs’ allowances and pay following the expenses scandal which broke earlier this year, the Committee on Standards in Public Life invited the public and politicians to set out their views before a report that is expected in October.
But, the Times has reported, this has resulted in MPs pleading the inquiry for pay rises or better allowances after complaining of media intrusion and increasing scrutiny.
The newspaper analysed the responses, and found many MPs, particularly Conservative, called for a hefty pay rise.
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Andrew Robathan, the Tory deputy Chief Whip and MP for Blaby, wrote to the committee stating if he had not left the Army, “I would almost certainly have become at least a Lieutenant-Colonel [who] is paid more than an MP and may also receive boarding school allowance, subsidised quarters and other perks”.
He suggested that a salary of between £105,000 and £110,000 a year was needed “to attract people of quality, ability, intelligence and experience into Parliament”.
