THE SNP have slammed a Tory for claiming MPs are paid "far too little nowadays" as the Tory government cuts Universal Credit for millions.

Sir Peter Bottomley has been an MP since 1975 and became the "Father of the House" in the Commons at the 2019 General Election due to being the MP with the longest continuous service.

MPs are paid an annual salary of £81,932 and Bottomley, the MP for Worthing West, thinks that this should be increased to the same amount as a GP.

The average salary for a GP in England is £100,700 and the average annual salary across the UK is around £28,000.

READ MORE: Universal Credit cut is 'sad and disappointing', Scottish minister says

It comes as Universal Credit has been cut by £1040 for millions across the UK after the benefit was uplifted by £20 per week at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cut came into effect today (October 6) with the UK Government pledging £500 million to help people into work - despite people collectively losing £6 billion from the cut.

In an interview with the New Statesman in which Bottomley said he's still an MP because "I’m still alive and people vote for me", he claimed that being an MP is the "greatest honour you could have", adding "but a general practitioner in politics ought to be paid roughly the same as a general practitioner in medicine".

He continued: “Doctors are paid far too little nowadays. But if they would get roughly £100,000 a year, the equivalent for an MP to get the same standard of living would be £110-£115,000 a year – it’s never the right time, but if your MP isn’t worth the money, it’s better to change the MP than to change the money.”

While the Father of the House no longer suffers financial pressures himself, he claimed that it is "desperately difficult" for his new colleagues, adding: "I don’t know how they manage. It’s really grim.”

The SNP have branded the call for higher MP salaries as "disgusting".

A spokesperson for the party said: "This shows just how out-of-touch the Tories are with reality. Millions have just had their incomes slashed by £1040 overnight and we have Tory MPs calling for higher salaries at the very same time because 'living on £81k a year can be really grim'.

"It's disgusting - and it shows exactly why Scotland needs independence."

READ MORE: Time's running out to stop 800,000 people plunging into poverty, Tories told

MPs were in line for a pay rise of £3000 in October last year but the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority - which sets MPs' salaries - said that would be "inconsistent" and "would not reflect the reality that many constituents are facing" amid the coronavirus pandemic when many were unable to work and on furlough.

The IPSA formula for MPs' pay is linked to any increase in average pay for public sector workers, with millions having had their pay frozen with overall wages falling last year.