Why do MPs need a wage, let alone an 11 per cent increase?

WHO, what, why and where are the Parliamentary watchdog (Tom Richmond, Yorkshire Post, December 14)?

All we, the public, know about them is they are upsetting all 
our MPs by forcing them to take an 11 per cent pay rise, whilst most workers get absolutely nothing.

Our MPs are up in arms at 
this financial intrusion, 
once again forced on to them, 
but as usual will weaken and accept it, to appease “the watchdog”.

Thought for the decade: 
as this bunch of money-
grubbing millionaires claim everything from toilet roll to biscuits on expenses, why do 
they even need a wage, never mind a rise?

From: Nigel F Boddy, Fife Road, Darlington.

IT is all very well for David Cameron to lecture MPs about the proposed pay increase being totally unacceptable. He is a rich man married to an heiress. How exactly are MPs to run two homes, one in their constituency and one in London on the salary we pay them?

MPs and their pay are an easy target especially after the expenses scandal.

We pay MPs about half the salary other European countries pay.

It is time we moved Parliament out of London altogether. If we want to pay MPs regional pay rates, Parliament will have to meet in the regions. The civil service should be moved out of London, too. Otherwise we will have to give MPs central London apartments to live in while they are MPs.

From: DS Boyes, Leeds.

THE decision by IPSA to press ahead with the very substantial pay rise for MPs of 11 per cent is an outrage when the rest of us have to put up with austerity.

But far worse than this is the claim that neither the Government, the Opposition nor Parliament itself has any power to stop it.

This must be the ultimate democratic deficiency, when any unelected body can spend vast amounts of public money with far reaching future consequences for taxpayers, yet remain completely – unaccountable – to anyone.

Bad enough that the EU controls most of the laws we have to abide by in this country, set by those faceless also unelected bureaucrats of Brussels and Strasbourg, but this latest move by IPSA, with all three main party leaders saying in unison that nothing can be done to stop it, makes the 2015 General Election pointless.

The principles involved are those of George Orwell’s book 1984 with Big Brother IPSA deciding anything it wants with impunity.

Most people believe that 
MPs are paid enough now, when the job requires no qualifications or experience, simply 
relying on gullible voters, ie 
those who can be bothered to vote at all believing the often 
false manifesto promises
made.

Revolutions have been born out of lesser offence than this to the people in some countries. I urge Parliament to legislate urgently to change this ridiculous anomaly.

From: Richard Billups, East Avenue, Rawmarsh, Rotherham.

NO wonder Westminster Palace is being called the House of Comedians when who come out with side-splitting jokes such as: “I’ll give my 11 per cent pay rise to charity.”

They must think we have all come up the Ouse on a Kit-Kat if they think we will fall for this twaddle.

If they give me an 11 per cent pay rise, I will change my name 
to “Charity” as quickly as possible. They don’t want to upset voters with a general election closing in on them, they don’t want to appear to be greedy.

Yet we are told by the UK’s most expensive mayor Boris Johnson that greed is good. Greedy?

They have always been.