MPs treated to second pay rise in less than a year, bringing starting salary to almost £75,000
Just nine months after awarding themselves a 10 per cent pay rise, MPs have voted to increase their salaries by another 1.3 per cent.
The latest raise brings the starting salary for MPs to £74,962, almost three times the average UK wage of £27,600. The 1.3 per cent increase breaks the one per cent cap on public sector pay rises which was issued by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) last year.
However, an Ipsa spokesperson defended the raise, stating it is “in line with our determination on MPs' pay, published in July 2015, where we committed to adjusting MPs' pay for the rest of this Parliament at the same rate as changes in public sector earnings published by the Office of National Statistics.
“The ONS index takes account of promotions and bonuses which may explain why the figure is higher than the 1 per cent wider public sector pay policy.”
In July 2015, Ipsa increased the basic salary for MPs from £67,000 to £74,000, backdating the raise to May 2014. The latest raise will come into effect in April 2015 and equates to an extra £962 per year for every member of Parliament.
Announcing the news, Ipsa reminded MPs they can choose to donate the extra money to charity, using an automated payroll-giving scheme.