Most believe MPs should refuse 10% pay rise recommended by IPSA
Ipsos's June 2015 Political Monitor looks at whether Britons think MPs should accept (or not) IPSA's recommendations on increasing MPs' salary.
As the debate over MPs’ pay continues, Ipsos’s latest Political Monitor investigates where the public stand on the 10% pay rise recommended by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). When asked if MPs should accept or refuse this pay increase seven in 10 (72%) members of the public say they should refuse it while 23% say they should accept it. Although there is little difference between Conservative and Labour supporters, UKIP supporters are more likely to think MPs should refuse the pay deal than Liberal Democrats (80% to 60%). There are also differences between the public and private work sectors. Eight in 10 (79%) public sector workers believe MPs should refuse the pay rise (19% say they should accept it) compared to 67% of private sector workers (28% say they should accept it). The middle classes are also less against the pay rise than those in social grades C2DE (28% of ABC1s say the pay rise should be accepted compared to 17% of C2DEs).
Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos said:
"After years in which politicians as a class have been near the bottom of Ipsos’s trust index and are still recovering from the expenses scandal, and when many people have been feeling hard-hit by the economic crisis, it’s going to be a tall task to build public sympathy for a pay rise for MPs, whatever the arguments behind it."
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Technical note:
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone 14-16 June 2015. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
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