Westminster MPs to get pay rise during covid crisis

UK lawmakers are set to be handed a pay rise as millions of workers face economic uncertainty due to local lockdowns. 

Plans for the financial boost for 650 MPs have been unveiled by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). Any increase in salary will be based on October’s year-on-year three-month growth figure of 4.1 percent – expected to be above inflation - the watchdog said.

The proposed rise comes seven months after the country was plunged into a strict lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Despite Rishi Sunak announcing an extension of furlough for workers affected by local lockdowns, millions around the country are still faced with uncertainty about their employment status.

On Friday the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group was the latest employer to fall into administration, putting 24,000 jobs at risk.

And with hospitality venues in coronavirus hotspots set to be closed under Boris Johnson’s “three tier” lockdown system, anxiety among workers, many of the them on minimum wage, is rising fast.

A pay rise in parliament would be an insult to hardworking taxpayers who’ve had a very tough year.