Fury as stay-at-home MPs get £3,500 pay rise while Brits suffer devastating Covid cuts

COMMONS pay chiefs have sparked fury by ploughing ahead with plans to hike stay-at-home MPs’ salaries by more than £3,500.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority faced calls to freeze politicians’ pay as the rest of the nation struggles in the Covid pandemic.

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But the watchdog decided to continue linking MPs’ wages to the average rise for public sector staff.

They said the increase is likely to exceed inflation.

IPSA said it would base next year’s pay rise on October’s public sector year-on-year three-month growth figure — 4.1 per cent.

It would mean MPs, including the SNP’s Commons Covid breacher Margaret Ferrier, would get an extra £3,360 on top of their £81,932 salary.

'A VERY TOUGH YEAR'

Jeremy Hutton, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “IPSA must be tin-eared if it really thinks a pay rise for MPs should be considered this year.

"Public finances are in a parlous state, furlough is coming to an end and unemployment is rising.

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"A pay rise in parliament would be an insult to hardworking taxpayers who’ve had a very tough year.”

IPSA’s interim chairman, Richard Lloyd, said it had reviewed MPs’ pay in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018.

He said: “Given the huge economic uncertainties arising from the coronavirus pandemic, we don’t think it’s right to depart from this approach.”

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