Isle of Man MHKs to get rise as Tynwald pay changes approved

Members of the House of Keys are to get a pay rise and those in the Legislative Council a wage cut after the Manx parliament approved changes to pay.

The changes will mean MHK pay rises by £1,172 to £65,098 and MLC wages fall by £2,471 to £61,455.

The new pay structure, which will also see all members pay tax on expenses, was proposed in an independent report.

The move will also see future pay revisions set by an independent review panel.

The original vote on the issue stalled after the branches divided over an amendment put forward by Julie Edge MHK, which would have seen the report shelved.

Tynwald members threw out that bid in a combined vote and instead supported an amendment by Lawrie Hooper MHK to have the report's proposed new structure implemented.

Rejecting Mrs Edge's proposal, Mr Hooper said since members had "generally agreed that we shouldn't be making a decision on our own pay", ignoring the report would be "absolutely bizarre".

Both MHKs had backed the future setting of pay rates by an independent panel.

The Treasury and the Public Sector Pensions Authority will now draft orders to bring in the changes following the 2021 general election, and the Emoluments Committee (EC) will bring forward proposals for an independent review body by February.

The shake-up will also remove a 30-40% uplift for departmental memberships and expenses will become part of basic pay, making it taxable, but remain non-pensionable, meaning MHKs will not be better off overall under the new arrangements.

Speaking after the debate, EC chairman Juan Watterson SHK said one important principle of the changes was to reduce the chief minister's "patronage when it comes to the pay of members".

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]