A PAY rise for MPs is "wholly inappropriate" and "frankly insulting", Alba MP Neale Hanvey has said.
And the politician said the 2.9% hike in salary should never have been agreed while so many people face hardship due to the cost of living crisis.
The pay rise for all 650 members of the House of Commons will take effect from April, bringing the overall salary from £84,144 to £86,584.
But Hanvey, who represents Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, fumed: "In the face of a decade long pay freeze – an effective cut in wages – and the appalling anti-strike legislation, I think any increase for MPs is wholly inappropriate, and frankly insulting to everyone struggling to heat their homes or pay their weekly shopping bill.
"Any proposal should have gone to a vote in the commons chamber and anyone who thinks it is right can put their name to it.
"Being denied this is a disgrace."
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) sets pay for MPs and said the increase would be the same as the average rise for public sector workers last year.
The salary increase for MPs comes as households across the country grapple with cost-of-living pressures, with the Government also facing a wave of industrial action by nurses, railway workers, teachers and others as part of ongoing disputes over pay.
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.”
IPSA was created in 2009, largely as a response to the MPs’ expenses scandal, in a bid to make the payments more transparent and reach independent decisions on salaries.
