Tories target MPs' gravy train

LONDON - An incoming Conservative government would cut the cost of politics by £120 million ($284.4 million) a year to give a lead to the rest of the public sector, party leader David Cameron promised yesterday.

Ministerial salaries would be reduced by 5 per cent and frozen until the following general election to save £250,000 a year; spending on the 171-strong fleet of ministerial cars would be reduced by one-third; and MPs would lose their subsidised food and drink in the Houses of Parliament to save £5.5 million a year.

The Tory leader confirmed he would cut the number of MPs by 10 per cent at the following election, from 650 to 585, to save about £15.5 million a year. Labour claims the move would permanently deprive it of 20 Commons seats.

The Tories insist Labour is over-represented at present because of the way parliamentary boundaries are drawn in the Labour-dominated cities and the Tories' rural heartlands.

"With the Conservatives, the gravy train will well and truly hit the buffers," Cameron announced in London. "I want to make clear: under a Conservative government, far from politicians being exempt from the age of austerity, they must show leadership. And leadership is about doing, not just telling."

He admitted that the £500-million-a-year cost of Parliament was only a "pinprick" in terms of total public spending, and that his planned savings would not solve the debt crisis at a time when the Government would borrow £175 billion in the current year.

Cameron said: "This is about more than the money. It's about the message. And the message is this. This country is in a debt crisis. We must all now come together, play our part, carry our burden and pay our fair share. And that starts at the very top - with politicians cutting the cost of politics."

The Tory leader accused Labour of wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers' money on "a cushy lifestyle for politicians", citing their gold-plated pensions, subsidised food, official cars and new payments such as the £10,000-a-year "communications allowance" for MPs, which the Tories would abolish to save £5 million annually.

"Last year, it cost £500 million to run Parliament. That's twice as much as it did in 1997. And has it really got twice as good?" Cameron asked.

He pointed out that there were now 169 ministerial posts with salaries ranging from £26,624 to £132,923. "It's only right, at a time like this, that they make a sacrifice.

So we will cut all ministerial salaries and that's the money they get on top of their MP's salary - by an immediate 5 per cent. This means a pay cut of £6500 for the prime minister and a £4000 pay cut for Cabinet ministers," he said.

"Walk into a bar in Parliament and you buy a pint of Fosters for £2.10. That's a little over half as much as in a normal London pub."

Cameron added: "If there is something that really annoys people it's seeing politicians swanning around in chauffeur-driven cars like they're the royal family."

- INDEPENDENT