What was claimed
MPs’ pay increased by over £2,400 in September and is up 42% since 2010.
Our verdict
The last pay rise MPs received was in April 2023, when their salaries did increase by £2,440. MPs’ salaries have increased by 31.7% since 2010.
MPs’ pay has not increased by 42% since 2010
2 October 2023
A post shared on Facebook claimed that Conservative party MPs received a “£2,400+” pay rise during the week of 19 September, and that meant MPs’ pay has increased by 42% since 2010.
The post was a screenshot of a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Howard Beckett, a former Assistant General Secretary of the trade union Unite. The post, which has over 5,000 shares, said “Tory MPs got a £2,400+ pay rise this week. A 42% payrise since 2010.”
All MPs receive the same MP salary irrespective of which political party they belong to.
The salaries of MPs did not increase the week the post was shared in September 2023. It’s true that the most recent pay rise for MPs saw their salaries increase by over £2,400, but this means their pay has increased by 31.7%, not 42%, since 2010.
MPs’ pay is £86,584 and has been at this level since April 2023.
So although true that the pay rise was over £2,400—it increased by £2,440 compared to the year before—this occurred in April 2023, not the week of 19 September 2023 as the initial post by Mr Beckett claimed.
If the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets the rate of pay for MPs, decides to give MPs a pay increase, this typically occurs in April at the beginning of the new financial year. MP pay did not increase in September this year.
IPSA is an independent body that decides the salary of MPs and their staff, and their pensions. It also regulates the business costs and expenses MPs can be reimbursed for. Since IPSA was given the responsibility by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act in 2010, Parliament and the government do not decide what pay MPs receive.
Since 2015, IPSA has adjusted MPs’ pay at the same rate as the Office for National Statistics determines public sector pay has changed.
In 2010, pay for MPs was £65,738 a year. It has risen by £20,846 since then to reach its current rate of £86,584—an increase of 31.7%, not 42% as the post claimed.
MPs’ pay has not kept up with inflation. According to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator which uses Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the Office of National Statistics, £65,738 in 2010 is equivalent to £96,556 in August 2023, around £10,000 less than the annual salary MPs currently receive.
In order to receive this salary, MPs must be sworn into Parliament and take an oath of allegiance to the crown. MPs who have been suspended from the House lose their pay for as long as their suspension lasts.
Some MPs will receive more than £86,584 this year for their work in Parliament. The Prime Minister, government ministers, whips and secretaries of state receive a higher salary, which is not set by IPSA. The Speaker of the House and Committee Chairs, as well as the Leader of the Opposition, the Opposition Chief Whip and two other opposition whips, all receive higher salaries than other MPs.
False or misleading claims about politicians have the potential to affect people’s opinions of individuals, parties or how they choose to vote. And it’s essential that all sides use accurate information when talking about pay, so that the public can understand the facts about what people earn. We often see these types of claims spread widely online.
Full Fact has written to Mr Beckett to ask for comment and will update this article if he responds.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as partly false because MPs did not receive a pay rise in September 2023 and their pay has increased by 31.7%, not 42%, since 2010.