MPs' pay to rise by 2.9 percent in April, upping their salary to £86,584

9 February 2023, 23:19 | Updated: 9 February 2023, 23:20

MPs will receive a 2.9 percent pay increase from 1 April, taking their salary from £84,144 to £86,584, as the Government remains locked in bitter row with unions over public sector pay rises.

Workers across the public sector workers are demanding inflation-busting pay increases which ministers have said the country can't afford.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets MPs salaries, said the annual adjustment to MPs' basic pay for 2023-24 will be in line with the average rise in pay for public sector employees in 2023/23.

IPSA chairman Richard Lloyd 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."

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He added: "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."

In August to October 2022, the average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9 percent and 2.7 percent for the public sector, according Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

Last year, nurses were offered a £1,400 pay rise - equivalent to a rise of more than 5 percent for the average nurse.

But nurses and many other public sector workers are demanding pay increase way above this in order to keep up with soaring levels of inflation - currently at 10.5 percent.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) claims its members have had a real terms pay cut of 20 percent since 2010 and is demanding a pay increase of 5 percent above the rate of inflation.

Ambulance workers, rail workers, teachers, postal workers, and civil servants are also staging industrial action for similar deals.

Unions have threatened to continue strikes for as long as it takes to secure satisfactory agreements over pay, but ministers in England have insisted they're not affordable.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is coming under pressure to resolve the disputes with unions, after some walkouts in Wales and Scotland were called off following new pay offers.