Herts MPs remain silent over pay rise announcement

The 2.9 per cent increase, set by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), will take their base salaries from £84,144 to £86,584.

Critics in Watford slammed the plan amid the cost-of-living crisis, but IPSA said it would equate to the average rise for public sector workers last year.

Watford MP Dean Russell, Hertsmere’s Oliver Dowden, and South West Hertfordshire’s Gagan Mohindra all failed to answer whether they would accept the extra money.

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Dean Russell

Most people were unhappy with the pay rise when asked on a Watford Observer Facebook post.

One person said: “Scrap it. Give it to the nurses, paramedics, teachers, care workers etc.”

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Someone else called for the pay rise to be stopped as “they don’t need it”.

However, another person said: “It’s an annual thing. It’s well below inflation. It’s set by an independent body.”

The three MPs did not answer when they were asked to respond to readers’ views.

Oliver Dowden (Image: Oliver Dowden)

Mr Dowden, however, shared a statement he received from IPSA.

In addition to the rise in public sector earnings, it said that IPSA also made the decision after it compared pay in Westminster with MPs in other G7 economies.

The letter added it is to stop MPs’ pay falling behind and then requiring a more significant increase in the future as happened in 2015.     

IPSA chairman Richard Lloyd said: “In confirming MPs’ pay for [2023-24], 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.”

Gagan Mohindra (Image: Gagan Mohindra)

He added IPSA’s aim is to ensure that pay is fair for MPs to support the most diverse of parliaments.

Mr Lloyd said: “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.”