Why Liz Truss is in line to earn Rs 1-cr per year despite disastrous tenure as PM

While Liz Truss may have the unwanted distinction of going down in history as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister after wreaking havoc on the markets and roiling her party, she has at least one thing to look forward to    an allowance of Rs 1 crore per year for the rest of her life.

Truss is eligible to draw on the the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PCDA) — a government reimbursement plan for staff and salary costs incurred by former prime ministers “arising from their special position in public life”,

Let’s take a look at this allowance, and why there’s been a controversy about it:

As per The Independent, the allowance was established after Margaret Thatcher resigned in 1990.

It was announced by her predecessor, John Major, in March 1991.

As pe_r NDTV,_ the allowance is paid from the Cabinet Office vote and administered by the Cabinet Office Finance Team.

And that’s not all.

Truss can also claim a pension allowance, that contribute towards their staff pension costs, capped at 10 per cent of the PCDA.

According to Business Insider, the allowance has remained capped at £115,000 since 2011.

Truss will now join six other living PMs eligible to collect the money under the scheme – potentially costing the taxpayer around Rs 7.4 crore.

In 2020-21, John Major and Tony Blair claimed the maximum allowance, while Gordon Brown claimed 114,712 pounds (Rs 1,05,63,428); David Cameron claimed 113,423 pounds (Rs 1,04,44,729) and Theresa May 57,832 pounds (Rs 53,25,547), as per the report.

As per Sunday Times, Blair alone till 2018 had drawn 1 million pounds from the allowance.

While Boris Johnson is also eligible, the amount he has received, if any, since resigning in July has not yet been made public.

As per The New York Times, it is important to note that Cabinet Office rules state that the allowance cannot be used to finance the private lives of the former PMs.

The allowance cannot be claimed “in advance of need,” rules say.

Also, former prime ministers cannot draw from the alliance while serving as leader of Britain’s main Opposition party.

The level of allowance would also be reviewed if Truss were to accept any other public appointment, as per the newspaper.

Opponents savage wounded Truss

As expected, Truss’ opponents have pounced on the opportunity to twist the knife.

Labour leader Keir Starmer told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she ought to just say no.

“I think that’s the right thing to do. She’s done 44 days in office, she’s not really entitled to it, she should turn it down and not take it,” Starmer said.

“There is no way that she should be permitted to access the same 115,000 pounds a year for life fund as her recent predecessors — all of whom served for well over two years,” Christine Jardine, the spokesperson for the Cabinet Office of the Liberal Democrats, said in a statement, as per The New York Times.

“Truss’ legacy is an economic disaster — for which the Conservatives are making taxpayers foot the bill,” Jardine added, saying it would leave “a bitter taste in the mouth of the millions of people struggling with spiraling bills and eye-watering mortgage rate rises thanks to the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement.”

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, told The Guardian called the idea of Truss receiving the allowance ‘grotesque’ ‘one in five civil servants are using food banks and 35 per cent have skipped meals because they have no food.’

Serwotka demanded that the next prime minister award civil servants who work hard with an “above-inflation pay rise.”

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, whose membership includes large numbers of civil servants, said: “The government are in a chaotic merry go round of ministers, with huge redundancy costs for the taxpayer. At the same time, they want to cut public servants pay in real terms and erode their redundancy conditions. It’s one rule for ministers another for hard working public servants. This is wrong.”

Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, added her voice to the chorus.

“Millions of public sector workers, including those who transform lives in education, are in the grips of a devastating cost of living crisis. Low pay leaves thousands upon thousands skipping meals and restricting energy use. They will be appalled to see the soon to be former prime minister rewarded for such catastrophic failings. She should do the right thing and give up the money.”

With inputs from agencies

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