TWO East Lancashire MPs have been accused of hypocrisy by a Liberal Democrat councillor after joining the Commons vote to boost their pay by £9,000 a year.

The 26 per cent pay increase was voted in by parliament at a session on Wednesday night and supported by Blackburn representative Jack Straw and Janet Anderson, of Darwen and Rossendale.

Now Darwen councillor Paul Browne has challenged the MPs to justify their vote.

He said: "Why is it that Janet Anderson can go on about low pay in her constituency and how unjust it is - then vote for a wage rise like this?

"We come from a very low paid area and it is just hypocrisy for Mrs Anderson to say she deserves this huge wage rise.

"My wife, Ruth, is a nurse at Blackburn Royal Infirmary and works damned hard . Yet she is given just a three per cent rise and has no way of increasing her income with outside interests, unlike Mrs Anderson."

Coun Browne also criticised Jack Straw and added: "It is just the sort of thing I expected from him.

"People have stopped me in the street absolutely appalled by this wage rise.

"I don't intend to let the matter go away - it will still be around when it comes to the General Election and the voters will not forget."

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