HALESOWEN and Rowley Regis MP James Morris has confirmed he will not accept the proposed 11 per cent pay rise.

He said: "I have said from the start that it is a serious misjudgement for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) to introduce an increase of this size at a time when most other people face much more modest pay rises.

"There are encouraging signs that average wages are starting to rise again, after a long period of pay cuts, freezes and very small increases, but IPSA should not have considered raising MPs’ pay until the people we represent start to get similar pay rises."

He added: "I believe that the cost of politics should be coming down, not going up, and so I will not accept an 11 per cent pay rise if I am re-elected in 2015."