Give soldiers £6,000 pay rise, say Lib Dems

Published on Wednesday 2 September 2009 22:02

PAY increases of more than a third should be awarded to the lowest ranking members of the armed forces to improve morale, say the Liberal Democrats.

The party called yesterday for rises of 6,000 for the most junior army privates, naval ratings and RAF aircraftsmen, to bring them into line with police officers and firefighters. It said this would cost up to 400 million – 1 per cent of the defence budget – but could be funded by cutting 10,000 defence "desk jobs".

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg condemned the starting salary of 16,681 for some services personnel as a "national disgrace".

He said: "Nobody can put a price on the sacrifices our troops make, but it is clear to everyone that pay levels are shamefully low for the lower ranks. We can't continue to reward the bravery of lions with peanuts. Widespread dissatisfaction over pay among the lower ranks has had a dreadful impact on morale."

The proposals include average increases of 3,000, to 25,000, across all grades of privates and lance corporals. Higher non-commissioned officer ranks would receive an average annual pay increase of around 1,000. By comparison, a development level firefighter earns 22,038, while a police constable's pay starts at 22,680.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, a former head of the army, complained last year that troops made less than traffic wardens.

Mr Clegg claimed cuts could be made in office staff because there was one desk job for every two service personnel.

John Muxworthy, chief executive of the UK National Defence Association, which campaigns for the armed services, said: "We welcome the suggestion pay should be increased significantly.

"However, any such rise should not be at the expense of the defence budget, which is already grossly underfunded."

Professor Trevor Taylor of, a professorial research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for defence and security studies in London, said: "Probably few members of the public would object if a new private patrolling in Afghanistan was receiving somewhat more than the current 21,000 a year."

The Ministry of Defence said it had accepted a 2.8 per cent pay rise for all personnel recommended by the armed forces pay review body. A spokeswoman said personnel in Afghanistan for six months got additional allowances of at least 3,574.