An Oldham MP has criticised a pay rise that she is set to receive as "inappropriate".
MPs’ pay is set to rise by 2.9 per cent from April, raising the overall salary from £84,144 to £86,584.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets pay for MPs, confirmed the rise will take effect from Saturday, April 1.
It said that the increase would be the same as the average rise for public sector workers last year.
IPSA was created in 2009, largely as a response to the MPs’ expenses scandal, in a bid to make the payments more transparent and reach independent decisions on salaries.
In reponse to the pay rise, Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: "Although MPs’ pay is decided by an independent body, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I believe that any decision on MPs' pay must be consistent with what is happening to nurses, teachers and others in the public sector as well as conditions in the private sector.
“I did not enter politics based on the salaries MPs are paid and I don’t think it’s appropriate that we should get a pay rise when so many of our constituents are struggling to make ends meet and the country faces a cost of living crisis.”
IPSA chairman Richard Lloyd said: “In confirming MPs’ pay for next year, we have once again considered very carefully the extremely difficult economic circumstances, the government’s evolving approach to public sector pay in the light of forecasted rates of inflation, and the principle that MPs’ pay should be reflective of their responsibility in our democracy.
“Our aim is to ensure that pay is fair for MPs, regardless of their financial circumstances, to support the most diverse of parliaments.
“Serving as an MP should not be the preserve of those wealthy enough to fund it themselves.
"It is important for our democracy that people from any background should see representing their communities in Parliament as a possibility.”
The other Oldham MPs, Jim McMahon and Angela Rayner, did not respond to requests for comment.
Angela Rayner under fire
Ms Rayner, who is MP for Failsworth as well as the deputy leader of the Labour Party, found herself defending her expenses on Times Radio on Monday morning.
While discussing Labour party analysis of spending using "government procurement cards", Ms Rayner was asked about her own expenses.
The party has compiled a dossier on the use of the cards which showed that across 2021 for 14 major Whitehall departments, a total of at least £145.5m was spent using GPCs.
ALSO READ: ‘Lavish’ Whitehall spending revealed by purchase card data, says Labour.
The MP came under criticism in March 2021 after the Daily Express reported she had claimed £2,367 for Apple equipment, including £249 for a pair of Apple AirPod headphones.
Ms Rayner said: “I’m actually using the equipment right now, the iPad is what I’m using to do my job, and I’ve had it for about two or three years to carry out my work as an MP, and it’s fully transparent in that.
“I don’t think the £1,600 on that is the same as millions of pounds that is being used on these credit cards in an inappropriate way, we need to make sure there’s transparency in that and the public are getting value for money.
“I can absolutely justify using electronic equipment to do my job, especially when during the pandemic when I wasn’t in the office in Westminster, and as I say as I’m here now I’m speaking to you on that very iPad that was purchased.”
The Conservatives said Labour introduced the GPCs in 1997.
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