Derbyshire MPs tight-lipped over their £2,212 pay rise
Derbyshire MPs aren’t commenting about their pay rise of more than £2,000 this year.
MPs will receive £2,212 more for the year from April 1, increasing their pay by 2.7 per cent from £81,932 to £84,144, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has announced.
MORE: Rolling updates on how Derbyshire residents can help people of Ukraine as Russian invasion continues
IPSA, which sets MPs’ pay independently, said MPs’ workload ‘dramatically increased last year’.
But the news comes at a time when many people are struggling financially as a result of the rising cost of living.
The Derbyshire Times contacted all MPs in our patch – Chesterfield’s Toby Perkins; North East Derbyshire’s Lee Rowley, Bolsover’s Mark Fletcher, Derbyshire Dales’ Sarah Dines, Amber Valley’s Nigel Mills, Mid-Derbyshire’s Pauline Latham and Erewash’s Maggie Throup – and asked them if they wanted to comment on their pay rise and how they would respond to constituents who don’t think it is appropriate at a time when many people are facing financial hardship.
None of them responded.
Richard Lloyd, IPSA’s chair, said: “MPs play a vital role in our democracy and this is reflected in their pay.
“It is right that MPs are paid fairly for the responsibility and the unseen work they do helping their constituents, which dramatically increased last year.”
Commenting on this topic on our Facebook page, Josephine Green said: “That is a total and utter disgrace, when ordinary people in this country are struggling.”
Char Emma Francis said: “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
But Nicholas Edwards said MPs’ pay is ‘none of our business’ while Sharon Marie Plant said people who want an MP’s wage could stand to be an MP.