Should MLAs be paid more?

From the BBC:

For five years, the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP) set wages and expenses for politicians in the assembly.

But the terms of the three panel members ended in 2016 and they were never replaced.

The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill proposes setting up a new independent board.

It is backed by the Assembly Commission, which includes representatives of the main parties.

MLAs are already set to receive a small increase in their salaries this April.

An assembly spokesperson said: “Under the terms of the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination (Northern Ireland) 2016, which was determined independently, MLA’s will qualify for a £500 pay increase from the 1 April 2025 on the basis of criterion in relation to the rate of inflation.

“As a result, an MLA’s annual gross salary will be £53,000 from 1 April 2025.”

Unlike the IFRP, the new panel will only have the sole remit of setting pay and pension entitlements for MLAs.

Like the IFRP, it will also be asked to take into account the salaries of MPs, TDs and Senators in the Oireachtas, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the Welsh Parliament (MSs).

MSs currently take home a salary of £72,057, MSPs earn £72,196 while MLAs at Stormont get a salary of £52,500.

So if our MLA got parity with Scotland and Wales they could get a 20k bump in salary, that’s good for them.

MLAs are keenly aware of the public perception that they are useless shower, and have been playing down the plans. Justice Minister Naomi Long said that the issue of pay was “low down” on her list of priorities and that she “does not feel underpaid.” TUV MLA Timothy Gaston said, “I do not believe that MLAs should receive a pay rise of one penny, never mind £19,000,”.

Playing devil’s advocate, it seems fair that salaries should be similar to those of the Scottish and Welsh assemblies. There is also the argument that having a good wage would encourage more people to go into politics, but I am not sure how much this is true. It would be interesting research to see how many MLAs are better or worse off after getting elected.

The bottom line is the public would be happy enough to see them get paid more if they thought they were doing a good job and getting value for money. However, the general public view of Stormont is somewhat negative, shall we say. This is a little unfair as many of our MLAs are good people who do valuable work for their constituents but are stuck in our dysfunctional system. As the political theorist Ladyt Gaga once observed, “Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah, Roma, roma-ma, Gaga, ooh-la-la, Oh, caught in a bad romance.” Wise words indeed.

I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.