Money and UK politics
The new increase in pay for MPs that has just been passed in the house of commons (BBC News. 2020) has called into question how well represented the country actually is by its MPs. Many UK voters have questioned how MPs can justify a pay raise for themselves during a global pandemic that is bringing the UK’s economy to its knees. They also say that it is wrong for MPs to be asking for more money in a time like this when they already have so much.
Starting salary and the proposed increase
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is the independent organization in charge of making changes to MPs wages. They have proposed a wage increase of 4.1% which they will base on October’s year on year three-month growth figure of 4.1%.
The average salary for an MP in the House of Commons in 2020 is £81,932 a year (Statista. 2020), the average salary in the UK in 2020 is £30,100 (Office for National Statistics, 2020). This means that MPs are earning £51,832 more than the average person they are representing.
There has been public outrage at the news that MPs could potential be getting a £3000 pay rise, this is a rise of 3.1% with inflation only being at 1.8% (Woodcock, 2020), especially within the student community who are already frustrated at the government and MPs over the lack of support and clarity during COVID. One student I talked to, Tilly Fry, who is currently studying tourism and hospitality management at Bournemouth University said “I just don’t understand how they can get away with it when we still have to pay full uni fees”. I also talked to Jen Dove who is studying to become a nurse at BU who had this to say “As a nurse the highest I can be paid is around £37,000 a year, but they can justify another £3000 on top of their already big salary”.
It’s clear that these people are not happy about this pay rise and when you look at the state of the economy at the moment you start to understand why. The UK GDP has fallen by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020, the largest fall in record (Office of National Statistics, 2020). So how can the MPs justify a pay rise during the worst economic fall in UK history? Since March 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 673,000 and the unemployment rate has risen to 4.5%. The voters in the UK have been struggling for work and money but the MPs only seem concerned with making sure they have what they need.
Do they need the money
It could be argued that politicians do not need the money they are paid as many are already incredibly well off and it is greedy to ask for more while already having so much. When looking at the schooling of MPs you can start to see where the idea of MPs being wealthy begins.
In the United Kingdom 7% of the population currently attending school are in private education (GOV.UK. 2020). This is a relatively small number of people in comparison to the population as a whole so in theory the percentage of MPs who were privately educated should be roughly the same. However this is not the case, with around 48% of MPs having been through private education (Jones, E., 2020). It is clear that nearly 50% of the members of the House of Commons grow up in the top 7% of wealth in the country. It is no wonder then that people are upset about the potential pay rise that is being proposed as most of the MPs in the Houses of commons do not need the money.
Why this pay rise is such a big deal
£3000 a year may not seem like a lot to some people, however when you put it into perspective you can start to see how big a deal it is. There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, with each one getting an extra £3000 a year that totals to an extra £1,950,000 a year more of taxpayer money going towards MPs bank accounts. But it is not just the money that is the problem here, it’s also about what the pay rise stands for. It shows that MPs are not concerned with the members of their constituencies that are out of work or who are struggling to pay rent.
While gladly taking this pay rise MPs in the House of Commons voted against a ruling that would supply £15 a week to 1.4 million children that are part of the poorest families in the country. This £15 a week would be a supplement for school meals during the school holidays (Weale, et al, 2020). This decision is a very clear example of MPs being out of touch with the lowest wealth people in this country. While taking more money for themselves they are also denying money to those in need.
Daniel Phelps
References:
- Jones, E., 2020. These Figures Show How Out-Of-Touch UK Politicians Are From Everyone Else. [online] openDemocracy. Available at: <https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/these-figures-show-how-out-of-touch-uk-politicians-are-from-everyone-else/> [Accessed 14 October 2020].
- BBC News. 2020. Mps Could Get £3,000 Pay Rise Under New Proposals. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54481234> [Accessed 14 October 2020].
- GOV.UK. 2020. Elitism In Britain, 2019. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/news/elitism-in-britain-2019#:~:text=Just%207%25%20of%20British%20people,of%20those%20in%20top%20positions.> [Accessed 17 October 2020].
- Statista. 2020. MP Salary UK 2020 | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/388885/mp-salary-uk/> [Accessed 17 October 2020].
- Ons.gov.uk. 2020. Average Household Income, UK – Office For National Statistics. [online] Available at: <https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/householddisposableincomeandinequality/financialyearending2020provisional#:~:text=More%20information%20about%20this%20process,30%2C100)%20shown%20in%20Figure%201.> [Accessed 17 October 2020].
- Woodcock, A., 2020. Mps Handed Above-Inflation Pay Rise To £82,000. [online] Independent.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-pay-rise-parliament-average-basic-salary-boris-johnson-government-a9377776.html> [Accessed 17 October 2020].
- Ons.gov.uk. 2020. GDP First Quarterly Estimate, UK – Office For National Statistics. [online] Available at: <https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/gdpfirstquarterlyestimateuk/apriltojune2020> [Accessed 19 October 2020].
- Hawker, L., 2020. Really? Fury As Mps Set For EYE-WATERING Pay-Rise Despite Coronavirus Economic Carnage. [online] Express.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1345706/mp-pay-rise-salary-increase-uk-economy-gdp-unemployment-ons-coronavirus> [Accessed 22 October 2020].
- Weale, S. and Adams, R., 2020. Marcus Rashford In ‘Despair’ As Mps Reject Free School Meal Plan. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/21/marcus-rashford-in-despair-as-mps-reject-free-school-meal-plan> [Accessed 23 October 2020].
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