'Crisis, What cost of living crisis?' MPs' salaries to rise to £94,000 under new pay plan
10 February 2025, 12:00 | Updated: 10 February 2025, 14:00
MPs' salaries could rise to almost £94,000 per year after the body in charge of their pay recommended a slightly above-inflation increase.
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The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) announced on Monday that it is proposing to increase MPs' pay by 2.8% in April, subject to a consultation.
If approved, the increase would take an MP's annual salary to £93,904, up from £91,346. At the start of the last Parliament, in 2019, MPs were paid £79,468.
The Ipsa proposal is in line with the Government's recommendations on a wider public sector pay increase for this year and slightly above the current inflation rate of 2.5%. The Bank of England has forecast an increase in inflation later this year.
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MPs do not determine their own salaries, which have been set by Ipsa since the watchdog was established in 2011 in the wake of the expenses scandal.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, branded the move a 'bitter pill to swallow' due to the cost of living crisis.
Mr O’Connell said: "This will be a bitter pill to swallow given politicians of both front benches have for years hammered the living standards of taxpayers.
"MPs are guilty of delivering a record high tax burden, persistent inflation and struggling services, yet are now being rewarded for this catalogue of failures.
"Pay for politicians should be strictly linked to the country's economic performance, ideally to actual living standards measured by GDP per capita."
Ipsa chairman Richard Lloyd said the body aims to "make fair decisions on pay, both for MPs and the public".
He added: "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."
Ipsa will consult on its proposals until mid-March. It is also carrying out a wider review of MPs' salaries, which it is obliged to do in the first year after an election.
