Midlands MPs condemn planned £2,200 pay rise amid cost of living crisis

MPs from the Midlands have condemned the planned pay rise to their salary saying it should be "ordinary people who deserve a pay rise, not well-paid MPs".

From April, MPs across the country will get a pay rise of more than £2,000– just as costs are set to soar for millions of their constituents around the UK.

Coventry South MP Zarah Sultan has said she believes the pay rise is wrong and has pledged to donate hers to good causes in the area.

In a video on TikTok, she said: "Do you think it's right that MPs get a pay-rise during a cost of living crisis? Well, I don't."

She continued: "It's ordinary people who deserve a pay rise, not well paid MPs who are already in the top 5% of earners."

"I'll be donating my £2,200 pay-rise to coventry food bank and local organisations supporting refugees, helping Ukrainians and all those fleeing war and persecution," she added.

Meanwhile, Nottingham East Nadia Whittome has expressed a similar view.

In an online post, she said: "Next month, MPs get a £2,200 pay rise to £84,144 while the country gets a rise in national insurance, energy bills & council tax."We’re already in the top 5% of earners."When I was elected, I pledged to take home £35k and donate the rest to local causes. That won't be changing."

The pay-rise comes as the country faces a crisis in the cost of living, with energy bills expected to cost £700 more per year when the new price cap comes into effect in April.

Downing Street is also standing firm on its controversial plan to hike National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points in a bid to boost health funding.

But despite widespread concern over personal finances - and opposition from Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - the MPs’ pay watchdog has decided to increase salaries.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) announced that the annual adjustment to MPs’ basic pay for 2022-23 will be 2.7% – the same as the average increase in pay for public sector employees last year.

It said that would bring the overall salary from £81,932 to £84,144 from April 1, 2022.