Do you support the 2.8% pay rise for MPs?

MPs are to receive an inflation-busting 2.8 per cent pay rise this year,  just one year after their 5.5% increase – taking their wages to almost £94,000.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), set up in the wake of the expenses scandal, said the move would reflect the “vital role” of MPs. Commons salaries will rise by 2.8 per cent over the next financial year, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) has confirmed.  It is the same pay uplift given across the public sector, including for NHS staff and teachers.

When IPSA first announced the 2.8% figure, Richard Lloyd OBE, IPSA’s Chair, said: “IPSA has been responsible for deciding MPs’ pay since 2011. Since then, our aim has been to make fair decisions on pay, both for MPs and the public.

“Our pay proposal for 2025-26 reflects the experience of the wider working public sector population, and recognises both the vital role of MPs and the current economic climate.”

At present, MPs receive £91,346 of taxpayer cash every year alongside expenses – which is set to rise to a little over £93,903.

Multiplied by 650, that amounts to a more than £1.6million-valued pay rise – and it comes just one year after MPs were given a 5.5 per cent salary bump.

The increase comes as MPs prepare to vote on moves that will see an estimated million disabled people lose their benefits, after Labour took an axe to the UK’s ballooning welfare bill and also cut pensioners’ winter fuel allowance.

Reacting to the news, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be frustrated that while their own income is squeezed, MPs will face no such hardship. Despite overseeing a soaring tax burden and crumbling public services, Britain’s politicians are once again being rewarded despite their litany of failures.”

But Ipsa said the move was in line with government pay recommendations for public sector workers.

What are your views? Do you think pay for politicians should be linked to the country’s economic performance?