Sadiq Khan’s salary has risen to £165,001 – meaning he earns almost as much as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Khan – reportedly in line for a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list – saw his annual wages increase by £4,025, from £160,976 to £165,001.
This is an annual increase of 2.5 per cent, and follows a 3.88 per cent increase in the previous financial year, 2023/24.
It means Mr Khan’s salary has increased by more than £10,000 in just over a year, having increased from £154,963 to £160,976 in December 2023.
Sir Keir reportedly earns £166,786 a year, though some reports suggest he is entitled to £172,153 but has chosen not to take the full salary.
Former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak earned £139,477 in 2022/23, because he chose not claim the full ministerial salary.
The pay rise follows an independent review of the mayor’s salary and those of the 25 members of the London Assembly, the cross-party body that scrutinises the mayor.
The review recommended that the mayor’s salary is always kept lower than the “total base pay available to the UK Prime Minister (including the element of that salary relating to his or her role as a Member of Parliament)”.
A further review of the way the mayor’s pay, and that of the assembly members, is calculated will be held in 2028.
A mayoral spokesperson said: “Following an independent review, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has set a uniform process to determine annual salary increases for the mayor and London Assembly members for the duration of this term.
“This ensures that any potential pay increases are determined in an impartial, fair and simple way, linked to the local government pay settlement.
“This process is independent of the Mayor and the GLA and in line with long-standing practice.
“Following the conclusion of this process, the mayor and assembly members have received the local government 2.5 per cent salary increase.”
The salaries review was conducted by Philippa Hird, a former chair of the NHS Pay Review Body and former member of the Senior Salaries Review Body.
The 2.5 per cent increase – which matches the increase received by town hall staff in outer London - has been backdated to April 1.
It means that the basic salary for assembly members rose from £62,761 to £64,331. The chair of the assembly, currently Andrew Boff, receives £77,148, up from £75,266
Joanne McCartney, the Labour assembly member who has held the role of Mr Khan’s statutory deputy mayor since he was first elected in 2016, receives £114,461, up from £111,669.
As mayor, Mr Khan is responsible for an annual budget of about £22 billion, including for the Metropolitan police, Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade.
In 2020, soon after the start of the pandemic, Mr Khan voluntarily took a 10 per cent pay cut in recognition of the dire state of City Hall’s finances.
He then accepted his full salary after being re-elected for the first time in 2021.
All assembly members voluntarily decided not to take a pay rise that year.
The review found that the job of mayor of London was generally viewed as being “one of the top five political roles in the country”.
It said: “The current remuneration of the mayor, which sits between that of UK cabinet ministers and the UK Prime Minister, felt right to most interviewees.
“While the mayor plays an important political role, it was generally recognised that it is the nature of public sector and political roles that their remuneration is unlikely to be at the same level that might be provided in the private sector for an equivalent level of accountability and responsibility.”
