Nicky Morgan turns down salary call in gender pay gap debate

Nicky Morgan has rejected a call from a Labour MP to give up her pay for the last two months of the year so she could learn "what it feels like to do the work of a male colleague but for 20 per cent less salary".

The Minister for Women and Equalities clashed with Graham Allen (Nottingham North) as he raised the issue of the gender pay gap in the House of Commons.

Mr Allen asked: "Would the Secretary of State, who I know cares about this issue, symbolically forgo her salary from the 9th of November until the end of the calendar year so that she knows from personal experience what it feels like to do the work of a male colleague but for 20% less salary?

"Wouldn't she say that all governments have failed in this field and now the time is not of declarations about change over a generation, but to seize the legislative agenda for which she would have massive support across the House to finally bring pay equality to women in our country?"

But Mrs Morgan dismissed his request to sacrifice some of her pay.

"I'm not interested in tokenistic gestures," she said. "He can give up his salary if he feels so strongly about it and wants to make a statement.

"But the important thing is that this Government is taking action on an issue which his party did not take action on for 13 years whilst they were in government.

"He is right to say that this does now need to be tackled by legislation which is why this Government is going to be publishing regulations shortly to make that happen."