All posts by diana Stone

About diana Stone

Diana Stone is a performing composer and musician playing Piano Violin & Guitar. She currently plays with Orchard and The Sonic Boomers. Previously with Rock/Roots band Elephant Shelf and also the Delta Ladies who mixed roots acoustic music and electronica until the death of Vicky Martin who formed the band which was active for 17 years. Diana composes in a variety of styles from pop to rock to Jazz and and classical music. Diana is also expert in multi-media recording and music production.

MPs’ 11% pay rise set to embarrass party leaders

Musings, , , , , , , , , , ,

I am sure they deserve every penny 😉

Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article titled “MPs’ 11% pay rise set to embarrass party leaders” was written by Daniel Boffey, policy editor, for The Observer on Sunday 8th December 2013 07.01 UTC

David Cameron and Ed Miliband will face embarrassment this week when it is announced that MPs will be paid an annual salary of £74,000 from 2015 despite their calls for “cheaper politics”.

The independent parliamentary standards authority, Ipsa, is to reveal its decision to increase salaries by 11% despite a lack of support from the prime minister and the leader of the Labour party. MPs’ salaries will then go up annually in line with national wages.

To pay for the increase, Ipsa is imposing greater pension contributions on MPs and clearing up discrepancies in the expenses system. A Whitehall source said the “across the board” reform would not cost taxpayers more.

Funding for the salary increase would come from cuts to MPs’ pension schemes that go far deeper than published proposals.

Ipsa was given full statutory control of MPs’ pay and pensions in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal.

Under the rules, parliamentarians do not get a vote on its recommendations but they automatically become law. Ipsa’s decision will prove politically difficult for Cameron and Ed Miliband.Earlier this year the prime minister said the cost of politics should fall under the salary review and the above-inflation rise will be seen in sharp contrast to the 1% rise in public sector pay packets.

Miliband has said he will not accept a pay rise and legislate to reduce MPs’ annual wage rises, which would inevitably mean the disbandment of Ipsa as an independent body.

Only the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has accepted the independence of the decision.

Charles Walker MP, vice-chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, who has been championing the freedom of Ipsa to make an unencumbered decision on wages, said “a little more pain” on pensions was acceptable in order to “draw a line under the issue”.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

Labour MP Slams The ‘Harsh’ Use Of Benefit Sanctions As ‘Brutalising’ The Poor

Musings
A lot of good sense here.
You can read Micheal Meachers blog here.

About Micheal Meachers.

Michael Meacher MP has been the Labout Member of Parliament for Oldham West and Royton since 1997.
He was first elected to Parliament in 1970 for Oldham West, reversing his previous defeat, and served as a junior minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan (Under-Secretary for Industry, 1974-75, Under-Secretary for Health and Social Security, 1975-79.
During opposition, from 1983 to 1997, he was in the Shadow Cabinet for fourteen years and also during this time lectured at the LSE. He stood against Roy Hattersley in the 1983 deputy leadership election and was a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee from 1983 to 1989. Whilst in the Shadow Cabinet, he was Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Social Security 1983-87, Employment 1987-89, Social Security 1989-92, Overseas Development and Co-operation 1992-93, Citizen’s Charter and Science 1993-94, Transport 1994-95, Employment 1995-96, and Environmental Protection 1996-97.
In Tony Blair’s government, he was Minister of State for the Environment and Privy Counsellor from May 1997 to June 2003.
He is a Parliamentary representative and member of UNISON.
Michael is a member of the Fabian Society.

Post by Diana Stone.