Fury as MPs are given a £2k pay rise

Both the main parties are in turmoil and Brexit is in crisis. So it’s no wonder there’s ...

A £2,000-A-YEAR pay rise for MPs sparked a furious backlash last night.

The inflation-busting 2.7 per cent increase, which was announced by the Whitehall quango in charge of pay and expenses, will take basic annual salaries to nearly £80,000.

It means MPs have seen their wages go up by more than 20 per cent in the past seven years.

The announcement provoked fury as critics said politicians should not get more money until they had sorted out Brexit.

There was further anger after it emerged that less well-paid parliamentary staff – who work in MPs’ offices – are likely to receive an increase of just 1.5 per cent.

Decisions on pay rises were taken out of the hands of MPs after the expenses scandal and handed to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).

The increase is now linked to the average rise in public sector pay. But critics said MPs did not deserve it and accused Ipsa bosses of being out of touch.

John Longworth, a proLeave campaigner and former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘My view is they shouldn’t be getting a pay rise until they’ve sorted out Brexit.

‘It’s as simple as that. It’s the most ridiculous thing. Anyone in the private sector would be paid by performance. The people voted to leave, and they haven’t delivered it.’

Harry Fone, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, said: ‘ A lot of taxpayers are going to be annoyed by this.

‘In the private sector, pay rises and bonuses are rewarded based on performance, not for just turning up. Ipsa are once again out of touch with the public.’

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: ‘It is an outrage that MPs are rewarding themselves with an above-inflation pay rise while civil servants, who do some of the most vital jobs in society, are still subject to a cruel 1 per cent de-facto pay cap.’

Seven years ago, in April 2012, the basic salary for an MP was £65,738 a year.

But since then their pay has shot up, in part following an Ipsa review to bring it in line with earnings in similar professions. This year the 2.7 per cent increase will mean pay goes up

‘Out of touch with public’

from £77,379 to £79,468. The £2,089 rise, effective from April 1, is well above the current Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation of 1.8 per cent.

MPs’ pay is linked to average rises in the public sector, as determined by the Office for National Statistics. The increase is automatic and not subject to a vote in the Commons. MPs who also chair Commons committees will see their bonus, currently £15,509 a year, also rise by 2.7 per cent to £15,928. Ministers, who are paid more because of their responsibilities in government, get the same increase as everyone else to their MP pay. Their ministerial salaries have been frozen since 2010.

In the same announcement, Ipsa said staffing budgets would increase by 1.5 per cent, meaning many staff will get a much lower increase than their MP bosses.

One Commons staffer said: ‘It’s bad enough that staff here are already overworked and underpaid compared to people in the private sector.

‘How are parliamentarians supposed to maintain talented people to run their offices if the benefits are so unappealing? It’s no wonder unpaid internships are rife. Once again staff are being shafted.’ Max Freedman, chairman of the Unite union’s Parliamentary Staff branch, branded the decision a ‘slap in the face’.

He said: ‘This real-terms cut for staff of MPs is unacceptable, and the fact MPs will be seeing a significantly higher rise is insulting.’

Some MPs said it was wrong staff would not get the same rise as them.

Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: ‘ Really disappointed that Ipsa are giving MPs a 2.7 per cent pay rise but only 1.5 per cent to my brilliant caseworkers and staff.

‘This is a really bad decision. Not fussed about paying MPs more but staff should get a proper pay rise each year.’

A Downing Street spokesman said the decision on MPs’ pay was an ‘independent process’, adding: ‘The Government is responsible for ministerial salaries and they have been frozen since 2010.’