LEANNE Wood has refused to take a pay rise since becoming Plaid Cymru leader, party officials have confirmed.

The 40-year-old is entitled to take home an annual salary of more than £77,000 since taking over from former chief Ieuan Wyn Jones in March.

But yesterday it emerged the former probation officer, a recent and vocal critic of a Welsh council boss’s near-six figure salary, has spurned an additional yearly payment of around £23,000 on top of her £53,000 basic pay.

The move has prompted mixed reactions.

Miss Wood’s supporters have applauded her “strong principles” and hope it will increase the nationalists’ appeal to the Welsh electorate – which has been hit by rising unemployment figures and higher living costs.

Others argue the decision may not be popular among fellow politicians and party members – with one senior AM appearing to suggest if Miss Wood did not want the extra cash she could have put it to good use elsewhere.

Under rules set by the Welsh Assembly Commission, all AMs in the Senedd are paid at least £53,852 per year. Those with other responsibilities – such as leaders of political parties with more than three elected members – are eligible for extra funds.

Following an anonymous email sent to members of the media, a Plaid spokesman confirmed that Miss Wood had refused to take a pay rise.

Lindsay Whittle, the party’s AM for South Wales East, said: “Leanne is a principled politician who believes that in these tough times it would not be right to accept an increase of more than £20,000 a year when families and individuals are struggling to make ends meet.”