Do pay rises really lead to better MPs?

It was entirely predictable that any MP who opposes a pay rise or wants to show how in touch they are with the public would seize the opportunity to say so today. Nick Clegg said he wouldn’t take the raise himself at his new monthly press conference this morning, followed by Vince Cable, who told Sky News that ‘I think everybody will understand the wider context and the attitude of the public, which I think will be very hostile if the political class decides to put its own interests first’. Former minister Tim Loughton, while suggesting he might withdraw his amendment to the Finance Bill calling for tax breaks for married couples, also said a raise would be ‘completely inappropriate’. Julian Lewis went one better than all of them and made a point of order in the House of Commons complaining about the way Ipsa recommends on pay.

The Prime Minister’s holding line is that the overall cost must not rise.