MPs will not have salaries reviewed until 2020, says IPSA chair

Sir Ian Kennedy defends last year's controversial 10% pay rise, saying increase to £74,000 was 'right thing' to do

Sir Ian said that the work of IPSA could not be made on the basis of public opinion (Getty)

MPs’ pay packets will not be reviewed until 2020 at the earliest, the chair of the parliamentary standards watchdog has said, as he defended last year’s widely criticised 10 per cent pay rise.

Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) told MPs he still believed that increasing MP’s annual salary to £74,000 last year had been the “right thing” to do.

The decision in July, which came as public sector workers were told their pay rises would be frozen at one per cent annually, was criticised by the Prime Minister and led to some MPs waiving the salary increase or donating it to charity.

But appearing before the House of Commons Standards Committee, Sir Ian said that the work of IPSA could not be made on the basis of public opinion.

“I have to do the right thing, which means I have to listen to the arguments and reasons and then make a decision,” he said.

“I happen to believe that the decision we made was right…if it is the case that some people still find it wrong I would hope over time that they would come to terms with the fact that I think it’s right.”

IPSA confirmed that the salaries would not be up for review until after the current Parliament. However, they are subject to annual adjustments based on increases in average pay in the public sector.

Last year’s pay increase coincided with cuts to MPs’ expenses, including for hospitality, evening meals and taxis home Westminster when working late.