Matt Hancock has refused to say whether he will accept a planned pay rise for MPs while the government freezes pay for other public sector workers.
Asked six times on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme, the health secretary said MPs’ pay was “set independently” and that he would not try to influence it, even to stop it going up.
It comes ahead of an announcement by the chancellor that all workers in the public sector outside the NHS will have their pay frozen, among other austerity measures like a cut to the international aid budget.
“The chancellor is going to set out the policy on Wednesday, the independent body on MPs’ pay will then set out its final policy, I’m sure that it will take into account all these things,” Mr Hancock told the programme.
“The reason I’m not answering the question, tempting as it is, is because I think these things should be done the proper way – and I have never set my pay, even to say it should be frozen.”
Pressed again and again on the issue, Mr Hancock said: “I’ll promise to come back onto this programme immediately after this decision comes through and I’ll let you know.”
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets MPs’ pay, is expected to recommend a £3,360 pay rise for all MPs, to £85,291.
The body is independent of MPs and its rises are technically automatic, though some politicians simply give pay rises they consider unfair to charity.
Despite MPs’ claims that they have no influence over IPSA, the body could be disestablished by parliament, which set it up and is sovereign over the UK.
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Ministerial salaries, which government ministers get on top of their MP salary, are expected to be frozen in the coming year, as they have been since 2010.
However ministers would still get the 4.1 per cent hike to their MPs’ salary, which is separate.
