MPs to get £2,400 pay rise in April as basic salary surges above £86,000 a year

09 February 2023 , 16:58

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MPs are paid a basic annual salary, which increases if they hold Government jobs (Image: PA)

MPs will be handed a £2,400 pay rise from April, taking their basic salary to more than £86,000 a year.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) revealed the annual pay hike for MPs for 2023-24 today - which amounts to an increase of 2.9%.

The move will bring the overall salary for members of Parliament from £84,144 to £86,584 from 1 April 2023.

It comes as the Government is locked in bitter disputes with unions over pay for public sector workers.

Nurses, teachers and ambulance staff are among the workers going on strike over measly pay hikes which they say have been eaten up by double digit inflation.

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

MPs’ pay is set by Ipsa, an independent watchdog set up following the expenses scandal, which makes a calculation based on public sector wages.

MPs pay is set by an independent watchdog following the expenses scandal (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Parliamentarians had their salaries frozen during the pandemic after the watchdog scrapped plans to give them a £3,000 pay rise in November 2020, which would have taken their salaries to £85,291 in April last year.

The suggested 4.1% hike came as public sector workers were facing wage freezes - prompting a major outcry.

But MPs' pay was boosted by 2.7% last year, rising from £81,932 to £84,144.

Richard Lloyd, Ipsa's chairman, said: "In confirming MPs pay for next year, we have once again considered very carefully the extremely difficult economic circumstances, the Government's evolving approach to public sector pay in the light of forecasted rates of inflation, and the principle that MPs' pay should be reflective of their responsibility in our democracy.

"Our aim is to ensure that pay is fair for MPs, regardless of their financial circumstances, to support the most diverse of parliaments.

"Serving as an MP should not be the preserve of those wealthy enough to fund it themselves.

"It is important for our democracy that people from any background should see representing their communities in Parliament as a possibility."

Lizzy Buchan