'The country is in chaos': People in Newcastle brand pay rise for MPs 'disgraceful'
The people of Newcastle Upon Tyne have spoken out against a looming 5% pay rise for MPs, branding the hike “disgraceful”.
Come April, the base salary for a member of parliament is set to rise by 5%, equating to £98,599 a year. MPs’ pay is also expected to climb further to £110,000 by 2029.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets MPs salaries, announced the uplift on Monday. The organisation stated the rise reflected the increasingly complex caseloads MPs face as well as rising levels of abuse and intimidation.
The local democracy reporting service took Newcastle’s Grainger Market to gauge the public’s reaction to the news.
Abrar Ahmed, the 63-year-old proprietor of the Sock Factory, jokingly dubbed MPs pay as “slave labour” then went on to compare the PMs pay to other public officials.
Mr Ahmed continued: “If you look at the Prime Minister for example, he is supposed to be responsible for the whole country and he gets paid less than some chief executives of some councils. I don’t think that’s fair for the PM.”
Dawn Hunter, 53, said: “Disgraceful, all that extra money could go to hospitals, doing new buildings up. What a waste of money.
“Sorry but I think it’s a disgrace. if they do something fair enough but I think its a disgrace when there are other people who could be better off.”
Katie Deacon, of Grainger Market’s Pet Lamb Patisserie, 42, said: “Well it’s just obvious isn’t it, get the people with the most power the most money. People like us who run small businesses are just constantly crushed by the pressure, having to pay so much tax, so many outgoings, you get VAT and we are barely scraping a living.
“And they are like ‘oh yeah an extra 5%’ no problem, we’ll put another wing on our house. It’s just completely unfair, it’s grotesque especially when the NHS is so underfunded.”
Barry Moore, 64, of Bryan Muers and Son Quality Fruiterers said: “I can’t see why they’re getting 5%, when everyone else is suffering. 5% is a big chunk isn’t it, have they done anything extra, I don’t know.
“The country is in chaos just about, with the oil and monetary systems. So why should they be getting 5%? I can’t see how they justify it.”