MPs‘ wage increase will take effect from April 1
(Picture: UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor / PA)A pay rise for MPs has been confirmed by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
The authority sets pay for MPs, with their new pay rises taking effect from April 1.
According to the Independent Parliament Standards Authority, the new increase will be the same as the average rise for public sector workers the previous year.
The latest figures of MPs’ salary increase comes as the country continues to grapple with the cost-of-living crisis, with ongoing strikes across the UK by a number of unions and its members over pay disputes and poor working conditions.
How much is an MP’s salary?
MPs will receive a 2.9 per cent pay increase, taking their overall salary from £84,144 to £86,584.
“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,” said Ipsa’s chairman Richard Lloyd.
He added: “Our aim is to ensure that pay is fair for MPs, regardless of their financial circumstances, to support the most diverse of parliaments.”
When was the last time MPs got a pay rise?
According to IPSA, the annual adjustment to MPs’ basic pay for 2022-23 was the same as the average increase in pay for public sector employees last year.
Last year, MPs received an increase of 2.7 per cent, bringing the overall salary from £81,932 to £84,144 from April 1, 2022.
How much does the Prime Minister earn?
Rishi Sunak’s earnings are made up of £79,936 for the role of prime minister, and an additional £84,144 for being an MP.
Alongside his salary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his family also have the right to live in the flat above the offices of 10 Downing Street.
The salary paid to a prime minister places them in the top one per cent of earners in the UK.
How much do civil servants earn?
According to the Institute for Government, the median salary of civil servants is £30,110.
Pay varies by grade: at the most junior level, the median salary is £21,380, while the median senior civil servant earns nearly four times as much (£82,550).
“Nearly half (49.7 per cent) of civil servants are paid below £30,000,” explains the Institute for Government.
They added: “Higher salaries are less common: just under a quarter (24.2 per cent) of civil servants earn more than £40,000 and less than three per cent earn over £70,000.
“This is partly due to the size of the big delivery departments such as DWP (£27,570) and the Home Office (£28,650), where median pay is lower.”
Mark Serwotka, of the PCS, the union representing civil servants, said: “Rishi Sunak doesn’t seem to understand that the more he ignores our members’ demands for a pay rise to get them through the cost-of-living crisis, the more angry and more determined he makes them.
“PCS members are suffering a completely unacceptable decline in their pay.
“By April, one-third of HMRC staff, for example, will be earning just the minimum wage, and 40,000 civil servants have used a food bank.
“It’s an appalling way for the Government to treat its own workforce.
“Rishi Sunak can end this dispute tomorrow if he puts more money on the table. If he refuses to do that, more action is inevitable.”
