‘This has done for our pay rise, hasn’t it?’ one MP muttered earlier this week after the lobbying scandal broke. I suggested on Monday that yet another row over politicians behaving badly will make it even more difficult for David Cameron to endorse a pay rise for MPs. This is a row that is just waiting in the wings to join the Central School of Conservative Drama, so here’s how things are likely to play out.
Ipsa is currently compiling its recommendations on MPs’ pay. It was expected to report this month, but I hear there is a delay, and publication could be much closer to the start of Parliamentary recess, which begins 19 July. The authority has the sole statutory power over MPs’ pay, and is expected to recommend a raise of at least £10,000, which would mean MPs take home roughly £75,000 a year.
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