Five things you need to know about the MPs’ pay rise

Today’s recommendations from IPSA on MPs pay have been with met the condemnation we’ve come to expect regarding our politicians — snouts in troughs, out of touch political class, etc. But it’s not simply MPs giving themselves more money. Here are the key five points of what the independent recommendations are actually proposing:

1. Overall cost of politics will increase
Despite the reshuffling of MPs’ remuneration (see point 4 for details), IPSA estimates the overall spend will increase £0.5 million by 2015. The headline figure that the cost of politics is going up is just the sort of story MPs like Conor Burns are keen to avoid.

It gives the impression they are out of touch, especially given the pay freezes and cuts in the rest of the public sector. And the reaction from MPs suggests many are keen to distance themselves from the proposals:

I’m going back to my constituency. Will try to repair the damage inflicted by this IPSA proposal.