MPs' pay goes up to £74,000 - a rise of £7,000
MPs' salaries are to rise from £67,060 to £74,000, or just under £7,000, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has announced.
The raise is backdated to 8 May, and then MPs’ pay will be adjusted yearly in line with average earnings within the public sector, rather than being linked to the whole economy as previously announced - in a move mandarins hope will soften the blow.
The rise has long been controversial among the public and several MPs.
The Prime Minister himself described the rise as unacceptable and has often urged Ipsa, an independent body, not to confirm it.
Ipsa’s chair, Sir Ian Kennedy, said he was "very aware of the strongly held views of many members of the public and by some MPs themselves".
"We have made an important change to the way in which pay will be adjusted annually. Instead of linking MPs’ pay to wages in the whole economy, it will be linked to public sector pay.
“Over the last Parliament, MPs’ pay increased by 2%, compared to 5% in the public sector and 10% in the whole economy. It is right that we make this one-off increase and then formally link MPs’ pay to public sector pay.”
The announcement comes the same day that the Police Remuneration Review Body recommended a 1% pay rise.
Three Labour party leadership candidates – Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall – have all said they will not be taking the pay increase, while minister Nicky Morgan and former minister Eric Pickles have said they would donate the money to charity.
Downing Street has confirmed that David Cameron will receive the 10% rise in his pay as an MP, but declined to say whether he will give the money to charity.
Mr Cameron's official spokeswoman said that Ipsa was setting MPs' pay and "the Prime Minister is an MP".
The spokeswoman told a Westminster media briefing: "As you know, the PM has consistently throughout this consultation process opposed the pay increase that Ipsa had been considering."