MPs handed above-inflation pay rise to £82,000

Annual increase of 3.1 per cent is in line with public sector average but well above the CPI inflation rate of 1.8 per cent

MPs are to receive an inflation-busting 3.1 per cent pay rise, bringing their basic annual salary to almost £82,000, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has announced.

The increase, revealed on Thursday, will raise MPs' basic pay from £79,468 to £81,932 and will be effective from 1 April.

It represents a substantial real-terms increase at a time when inflation is running at 1.8 per cent on the CPI measure.

MPs will also receive increased expenses to cover the cost of staffing their parliamentary offices.

In the wake of the expenses scandal, annual pay rises in the Commons were pegged to the change in average weekly earnings in the public sector for October.

MPs no longer have any role in voting through their own salary increases.

IPSA interim chair Richard Lloyd said: “Our review of MPs’ staffing budgets in 2019 found demands on MPs’ offices were high, with staff doing difficult and stressful casework with constituents on a very wide range of problems.

“There was often high staff turnover, with salary levels below comparable roles elsewhere, based on independent benchmarked evidence.

“In many MPs’ offices, relatively little time or money was spent on staff training, wellbeing and development.

“As a result, we have provided additional funding in MPs’ 2020-21 staffing budgets for staff training and welfare, security, and changes to the salary bands and job descriptions for MPs’ staff to bring them into line with the jobs they actually do.”

The 3.1 per cent rise comes after a 2.7 per cent boost in 2019, 1.8 per cent the previous year, 1.4 per cent in 2017, 1.3 per cent in 2016, and a big hike from £67,000 to £74,000 in July 2015.

The deputy general secretary of public sector union Prospect, Garry Graham, said: "The announcement that MPs will receive a 3.1 per cent pay increase will be viewed with surprise by many civil servants whose experience has been average pay increases capped at 2% over the past year.

"If MPs are to avoid being accused of hypocrisy, they need to ensure the staff who serve and support the government receive pay awards of at least this level this year.”