Next week there is a vote for MPs to vote through above inflation pay rises for themselves.
I have to admit to being a little bemused why they vote through their own pay rise - maybe it is something I should start in the organisation I run, I wonder how long it would continue trading for!!
The fact is their pay should be linked to the increases given to a grade in the civil service and they should then have no role in it.
However, there is a more interesting hidden element in the new arrangements. Parliament will now be allowing all MPs the cost of having an office both in parliament and in the constituency. For years they have looked at this but have struggled with setting a financial sum to cover the rent in both Aberdeen and Kensington. So, they have decided to back an arrangement that allows MPs a fixed square footage of office in their constituency - fixed at 800 sq ft. Anything over that would need to be paid for by the MP. It could well be there will be some anxious MPs out there, who are leasing office space from their own political party (who own the building), because they might find, suddenly, that they will not be able to claim as much money as they used to and could be lumbered with a building they really cannot afford.
But the new arrangements also go further. For every member of staff that you decide to base in parliament, rather than your constituency, you will be allowed 100 sq ft less in the constituency. So, have two staff in Westminster and you can only have 600 sq ft in the constituency.
Will be interesting to see how this affects the way MPs operate their offices and support.
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