Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones refuses to take pay rise
NUNEATON'S voice in Parliament is honouring his election pledge by refusing to accept the controversial ten per cent rise for MPs.
Instead Marcus Jones has said that he is going to donate the extra amount to several chosen charities and good causes.
Mr Jones told the Nuneaton News that he had a number of charities 'in mind' but was reluctant to reveal which ones at this stage.
"It is important for me to honour what I said I would do prior to the General Election, which is that I would not take the ten per cent instead donate it to charity" he said.
"Therefore, in order to abide by the spirit of my pledge, I am going to donate the extra amount I receive after tax to several chosen charities and good causes.
"It is also important for me to recognise that while it is an independent organisation that made the decision to increase MPs' pay, that many people won't see that independent organisation being in touch with the vast majority of the members of public."
He went on: "I have been very aware that many people working in the public sector have received only one per cent increases over the last few years – a situation which is set to continue.
"For this reason I did not think it was a realistic position which the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was taking.
"For an organisation that is independent it has certainly showed that they are out of touch with national sentiment."
Mr Jones added that it was his personal decision but said that some fellow MPs were following suit.
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:24 pm
