Police officers under pay freeze react with mixture of astonishment and anger to the 2.7% MP pay rise

2 March 2022

Police officers – subject to a brutal Government pay freeze since 2020 – have reacted with a mixture of astonishment and anger to the news that MPs are being granted a 2.7% pay rise.

All MPs will get a £2,212 pay hike on 1 April, seeing an MP's basic salary go up to £84,144 a year.

Over the past 10 years due to ‘austerity’ based pay freezes and subsequent below inflation pay rises, police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 20% behind the cost of living.

Unlike nurses and firefighters, police officers were given no pay rise in 2021 with the public cost of the Covid-19 pandemic blamed by the Treasury.

Now household bills are rising sharply and National Insurance is going up in April – the same week MPs will receive their rise.

Officers have reacted to the news with fury – especially as the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which sets MP salaries, said the politicians should be paid fairly for the responsibilities they carried, which ‘dramatically increased’ during the pandemic.

Brett Grange, From Greater Manchester Police Federation, said: “The role of policing is manipulated to air brush out the 1000’s of amazing and brave acts every day. During the pandemic we were asked to do the unthinkable, manage emergency mortuaries, suppress a free society to maintain disease control and despite all the death and horror still attended people’s houses when we were all told this was a very risky thing to do. 

“We lost colleagues to the pandemic because of their work. To suggest MP’s surpassed the contribution of other public sector workers is further evidence if needed that we are held in such low regard, even contempt. 

“Warm words will not warm officers houses as officer pay is still restricted from the financial crisis of 2008.

“MPs hide behind how an independent body advises on pay… police had one of these but it was ignored at every turn, I’m afraid it is only going to confirm to many that there is one rule of us and another for those in positions of power.”

In May 2021 the Police Federation withdrew from the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) after recommendations from the body were once again disregarded by the Government, seeing officers with no uplift in pay despite the efforts and challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.