A Government minister who is paid £115,824 has said the cost-of-living rise will be “tricky” for his household, on the same day he is set to receive a pay rise of £2,212. MPs salaries rise to £84,144 on April 1, up by 2.7%, after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) announced last month that salaries would go up for the first time in two years.
But it comes on the same day that the biggest jump in domestic energy bills in living memory has come into effect, and days before national insurance contributions will increase by 1.25 percentage points. Speaking on Sky News, policing minister Kit Malthouse acknowledged it would be “very tough”.
“We completely acknowledge that a combination of factors has meant that prices are rising significantly, energy prices in particular, driven by a variety of factors – post-pandemic, the war in Ukraine, other kinds of global factors outside of our immediate control – and it is tough,” he said.
“For those of us who have a smart meter, as we do here in my house, we can see how much it is costing us on an hourly basis, and it is not happy reading.” Mr Malthouse, who as a minister of state earns an extra £31,680, bringing his total pay to £115,824, said his household was also facing a “tricky” time.
Mr Malthouse, who conducted broadcast interviews with a fire on in the background, told LBC: “Obviously the day to day is quite tricky. As you know, I’ve got children. They need to be fed and that cost is rising.
“My fuel prices are rising quite significantly, and I have to say that in my constituency I’m on oil central heating still, sadly.”
The Conservative MP for North West Hampshire continued: “Oil, I’m afraid to tell you, doesn’t come under the energy price cap, and lots of people in rural areas are suffering from the oil price rise. So we are feeling it very significantly. I have to confess to you, we did convert last year to electric vehicles, so we are feeling the electric price but not through the petrol. So it is a challenge for everybody.”
Crime and policing minister Mr Malthouse said that he had attempted to log on to his energy app on Thursday as millions tried to give meter readings before the energy cap price rise came into effect, and it “wasn’t working either”.
