Conservatives aim to axe 120 MP jobs

Sunday, 26 December 2004 12:00 AM

The Conservative Party leader wants to trim the number of ministers and MPs by a fifth, according to The Sunday Times.

In the "smaller Government" bill, Michael Howard's party is to set out how a future Tory administration would make Westminster leaner and more efficient.

The Bill will also include plans to slash the number of special advisers by some 20 pr cent.

Tory Shadow leader of the Commons, Oliver Heald, said a minimal state would reduce "unnecessary and costly interference" in peoples' lives.

Mr Howard, also thought in favour of a referendum in Wales on the future of the Welsh Assembly, may opt to axe 120 MPs from the current total of 659.

Mr Howard said the changes could be undertaken in the life of one parliament.

"You have got to have a big bang. We don't want this like the House of Lords reform, getting to one stage and then not having the next stage," he said.

He told The Sunday Times that scaling down the number of MPs in the Commons was consistent with Government plans to axe 90,000 jobs from the civil service.

"It is all very well saying Government departments should be reduced, but what about ministers, Parliament and special advisers? So we have decided that we would reduce the number of ministers, the number of MPs and the numbers of special advisers," he said.

The efficiency plan could save 20 million pounds a year, he said.

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