16.07.15
MPs will be forced to make more money
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) just confirmed that MPs will get a 10% pay rise bringing their salaries up to a whopping £74,000 – whether they like it or not.
This is despite Cameron urging Ipsa not to proceed with the pay rise, which the authority argues is actually a ‘pay regrading’.
Most MPs say this decision is unacceptable (whether they really think it is – that’s another matter), but little can be done after Ipsa was put in charge of their pay in order to bar them from voting on it.
The pay will be adjusted yearly “in line with average earnings within the public sector rather than being linked to the whole economy”, as stated in Ipsa’s press release from today. The increase, after a two-year pay freeze, is justified as a reflection of how it had previously “fallen behind” in 2013.
But despite Ipsa claiming that new adjustments would be in line with the public sector only, the increase was topped up to match the whole economy – which, over the last parliament, increased by 10%. The public sector only increased by 5%.
This is actually part of a wider remuneration package, which includes a career-average pension, an end to generous resettlement payments, and further cuts to expenses like costs of hospitality, evening meals and taxis home from Westminster.
Sir Ian Kennedy, chair of Ipsa, said this was a “necessary break with the past”. He also said Ipsa had listened to the voices of those who strongly opposed this decision, apparently to no avail.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper said the pay rise is completely unfair at a time when nurses, care workers, police officers and armed forces face another five years of pay freeze.
Yet however “unfair” it may be, it could potentially force MPs to be transparent with their balances and state what they are going to do with the extra money. Two cabinet ministers and several Labour party figures have stated they will give it to charity or fund apprenticeships – let’s see how many of the rest will follow suit.
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