Keir’s resolution to Labour’s shambles… pay extra ministers! New legislation would let the PM put 11 extra MPs and friends in authorities – together with one further at Cabinet
Sir Keir Starmer is set to put an extra 11 ministers on the payroll as he desperately tries to make his Government function.
The PM has tabled a law that would increase the cap on the number of ministers that can be given salaries from 109 to 120.
Instead of 21 paid Cabinet ministers – who get £67,505 on top of their MP salaries – there would be 22.
Other ministers receive between £22,000 and £31,000, or up to £104,360 if they are peers, who do not get Parliamentary salaries.
The total cost to the taxpayer, including pension contributions and employer national insurance, could reach £1million a year.
An explanatory note to the Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill states: The likely financial implications of the Bill are an estimated £600,000-£850,000 increase in ministerial salary costs per year, or approximately a 13 to 19 per cent increase.
It added this was ‘plus any additional employer pension contributions, severance payments and Lords Office Holders Allowance payable’.
Currently 12 ministers are thought to serve without pay out of a total of around 120 – said to be the average size of government since 2010.
One of those not receiving a salary at the moment is Labour Party chair Anna Turley. That post is traditionally funded by the political party.
Instead of 21 paid Cabinet ministers – who get £67,505 on top of MP salaries – there would be 22
The new legislation would amend the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975
A Government source told Politics Home of the mooted amendment to the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975: ‘The current Cabinet has the highest proportion of state-educated members in history, and the Prime Minister believes that ministerial office should not be reserved for those wealthy enough to fund it for themselves.’
Sir Keir is said to want to reduce the Government’s reliance on unpaid ministers by updating the ‘outdated’ legislation from more than half a century ago.
Government sources also pointed to how the changes will not increase ministerial pay, which has not rise since 2008 with the exception of a one-off pay increase for peers in 2019.
The news emerged after MPs were handed a 5 per cent pay rise from April – higher than for the NHS and most public sector workers.
The Commons watchdog announced the increase to £98,599 earlier this week, insisting that the job is getting more ‘complex’ with more ‘intimidation’.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority also signalled that salaries for politicians will continue to rise fast, to reach £110,000 by 2029.
More than a million NHS staff are having to make do with 3.3 per cent.
It is also more than the 4.8 per cent state pension rise, and well above the anticipated level of inflation.
The MPs’ hike for this year is made up of 3.5 per cent to cover cost of living pressures, and a 1.5 per cent ‘benchmarking adjustment’.
Peers are also set to benefit as their tax-free daily allowance is linked to the MP increase. It is in line to rise from £371 to £390.
