It comes as the government is locked in bitter industrial disputes with public sector workers people that actually do, do something to help the people of Britain. Unions are demanding inflation-busting pay rises which ministers claim they can’t afford.
Paramedics, teachers, postal workers, rail workers and civil servants are also striking for similar deals.
Unions have threatened to strike for as long as it takes to achieve their demands, but ministers in England have insisted they are not affordable.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is coming under pressure to resolve the disputes, after some strikes in Wales and Scotland were called off following revised pay offers.
Firefighters’ strikes have also been postponed after an increased pay offer of 7% backdated to July 2022, and then 5% from 1 July this year.
MPs’ salaries are decided by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which has a legal duty to set their pay independently of parliament and government.
In 2022 The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority said politicians’ salaries will go up from £81,932 to £84,144 and MPs receive £2,212 more for the year.
From 1 April 2021, the annual salary of a Member of Parliament remained at £81,932, the salary that applied from 1 April 2020. IPSA had concluded that given the impact of the Covid pandemic, “applying the forthcoming official statistic for public sector earnings growth would result in a salary increase for MPs that would be inconsistent with the wider economic data and would not reflect the reality that many constituents are facing this year”.
In 2020 MPs received a rise of 4.1% which meant MPs would earn an extra £3,359 on top of their salary of £81,932 plus expenses.
This of course is the basic salary of an MP and does not take into account other benefits including as of 2022:
Members’ expenses
| (£ per annum) | Budget | Additional budget# |
Accommodation Costs | 23,290 | |
| Caring responsibility | 5,500 | |
| London Area Living Payament | 4,140 | |
| London Area Living Payment (addition) | 1,470 | |
| Staffing Costs London Area MPs Non-London Area MPs | 190,750 179,330 | 27,680 24,970 |
| Office Costs London Area MPs Non-London Area MPs Start-up Supplement | 30,400 27,470 6,000 | |
| Winding-Up Costs London Area MPs Non-London Area MPs | 57,150 53,950 | |
| Winding-Up Payment | Two months’ salary* |
Richard Lloyd, IPSA’s chair, said: “In confirming MPs’ pay for next year, we have once again considered very carefully the extremely difficult economic circumstances, the government’s evolving approach to public sector pay in the light of forecasted rates of inflation, and the principle that MPs’ pay should be reflective of their responsibility in our democracy.
“Our aim is to ensure that pay is fair for MPs, regardless of their financial circumstances, to support the most diverse of parliaments.”
Mr Lloyd added: “Serving as an MP should not be the preserve of those wealthy enough to fund it themselves.
“It is important for our democracy that people from any background should see representing their communities in parliament as a possibility.”
The average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9% in August to October 2022, and 2.7% for the public sector, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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