WEST Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty is against the proposed 10 per cent pay increase for MPs and has pledged to donate his share to local good causes.

Westminster MPs look set to receive an additional £7,000 to their already sizeable £67,000 per year salaries.

SNP politician Docherty has vowed to give the extra money to charity.

Mr Docherty said he “could not in good conscience” accept the huge rise when so many were living in poverty.

The new salary has been put forward by the Independent Paramilitary Standards Authority (IPSA), which has a statutory duty to review MPs' pay in the first year of each parliament.

Mr Docherty, who was brought up in Clydebank, said: “Many of my constituents are being forced deeper and deeper into poverty by this Tory government, and public sector workers are being asked to accept small, below inflation pay rises to help balance the books.

“It is for every individual MP to decide what is appropriate for them to do but I could not in good conscience accept a huge 10 per cent pay increase.

“The details are still being worked out and as the year progresses I’ll keep people up to date, but I can confirm that if I am forced to receive extra money in my take home pay, I will be donating it to local community groups and good causes.

“It’s not a huge sum of money, but from my experience, I know that a little can go a long way in the right hands.” Should the 10 per cent pay increase get the go-ahead, the government would be dishing out an additional £4.4million per annum on salaries, not taking into account the millions of pounds MPs claim through expenses.

Mr Docherty said: “I don’t think you’ll find a single person in West Dunbartonshire who thinks the best way to spend £4.4 million is giving MPs a pay rise, “With a swathe of cuts across the board, not least of all to the welfare safety net for the most vulnerable in society, there are countless areas where this money could be better spent.” Prime Minister David Cameron previously dubbed the 10 per cent pay increase as ‘unacceptable’. However the only way he can reject the proposal is to pass a law that would abolish IPSA entirely.