Public views are shaping the future of MP pay and funding

Date published: 6 October 2025

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is promising to open up more ways to hear directly from the public and promote better understanding and trust in MPs’ funding after an innovative exercise in citizen engagement.

A report from members of the first IPSA-sponsored Citizens’ Forum said their understanding of the system “totally changed” during the process.

The participants said it was an “informative, transformative and enlightening experience”.

IPSA asked an independent partner, New Citizen Project, to recruit a representative group of UK citizens. They were supported by a panel of independent advisers and expert speakers to provide information on what MPs do and how they are currently funded.

Richard Lloyd, IPSA’s Chair, says:

“We have a legal duty to independently set MPs’ pay in each parliament. This time, we are proposing the way we do so should be based on the main recommendations made by the Citizens’ Forum.

“We’re committed to having open, honest and fact-based conversations with the public about how democracy is funded in the UK.” 

Irenie Ekkeshis, New Citizen Project’s Co-Founder and Director, says:

“We’d like to congratulate IPSA for their willingness to invite citizens into decision making around the future of MPs’ pay and funding.

“New Citizen Project has been working in the field of participation for a decade, but it’s not often we have the chance to work on a project that touches the heart of democracy itself.

“Despite differences in age, background and politics, the Forum members showed that there is a shared view of what people would like to see from IPSA, our MPs, and our wider democracy.

“We encourage all institutions, especially those at the heart of our democracy, to consider how they can help to restore trust by placing more trust in citizens.” 

The Forum saw 23 members of the UK public – recruited from a random sample and representative of the population’s age, gender, education level, and voting intention – meeting over six sessions to learn and discuss how the work of MPs is currently funded.

One key outcome was that they now “mostly believe MPs’ pay is fair, but that it should remain grounded in the context of the wider social and economic realities facing ordinary working people.”

Other recommendations include:

  • MPs’ pay and funding should allow all MPs to fulfil their role effectively and safely, ensuring the position is accessible to people from all income backgrounds and that factors such as disability or gender are not barriers.

  • MPs’ pay should reflect the demanding nature of the role.

  • MPs’ pay should be benchmarked against comparable roles in the public service and similar democracies.

  • MPs’ pay should be linked in part to national average household income.

  • MPs’ primary duty should be to their constituents.

IPSA will publish a full response to the Forum’s recommendations in the coming months, but the overall principles are already being used to guide IPSA’s decision-making. This includes the current Consultation on MP’s Pay and Funding, which is open until 31 October.

ENDS

For more details, please contact IPSA's Press Office via communications@theipsa.org.uk.

Notes to Editors 

  1. IPSA was created in 2009 by the Parliamentary Standards Act. The Act was amended in 2010 by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act. Together they gave IPSA three main responsibilities: to regulate MPs’ business costs, to determine MPs’ pay and pension arrangements, and to provide financial support to MPs in carrying out their parliamentary functions.

  2. IPSA is independent of Parliament and the Government. This allows us to make decisions about the rules on business costs and on MPs’ pay ourselves, without interference. You can find out more about IPSA's role and responsibilities on our website.

  3. The Scheme of MPs’ Staffing and Business Costs (‘the Scheme’) governs what MPs can and cannot claim. We review our rules regularly and consult the public when we do so.

  4. New Citizen Project is an organisation which specialises in participation strategy and design, and was commissioned by IPSA to design and deliver the Citizens' Forum. It has run multiple deliberative democracy projects, including RSPCA’s Citizens’ Assembly on the Future of Animal Welfare. It also designed the overarching RAPID Democracy framework for the People’s Plan for Nature, a pioneering deliberative project commissioned by RSPB, National Trust and WWF in 2022.

  5. The recruitment process for the Citizens’ Forum was run by the Sortition Foundation. Sortition is a not-for-profit organisation specialising in recruiting for these kinds of events. 10,000 addresses in the UK received a letter inviting residents to take part in the Forum, and were recruited to form a group representative of the wider population.