EVESHAM’s Labour candidate has pledged to take an ‘average worker’s wage’ should she be elected to serve the constituency.
Helen Russell revealed the remainder of her almost £80,000 a year MPs salary would be donated to charities and social justice causes and groups.
No figures were given by the party as to what Miss Russell would claim but the website payscale.com suggests the average salary in the county is around £25,000 a year.
The pledge, made at her first ‘Meet the Candidate’ event last weekend, went with a wider commitment to establish a local People’s Assembly, comprising community organisations, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and charities to create a shared vision for Mid Worcestershire.
Speaking after the event, Miss Russell said the pledge for a workers wage was about more than donating some of her salary to charities.
“I commit to taking a workers wage and would urge other candidates to follow suit. This is about a representational principle,” she said.
“If MPs are in Westminster to represent the many, they should not take salaries that separate them materially from the vast majority of the people they were elected to represent.
“MPs work hard but so do nurses, firefighters, teachers, postal workers and staff in retail and the service sector, who are suffering from years of pay restraint and the drive towards putting profit margins before decent quality of work and life,” she added.
The aspiring MP was boosted with an endorsement from Andrew Scattergood, Fire Brigades Union (FBU) West Midlands Secretary.
“The fire service in Worcestershire has seen massive cuts under the Conservatives. 29 per cent of the frontline firefighters have been slashed and fire cover has been dramatically reduced,” he said.
“That is why firefighters in Worcestershire are backing Helen Russell to be the MP for Mid Worcestershire.
“It’s time for real change and it’s time for a voice that will stand up for firefighters and other workers,” he added.
