MPs and MSPs have been handed a pay rise from today of more than £2,000 to their annual salaries - on the same day the cost of living crisis hit millions of households.
From April 1, members of the House of Commons will each have their salaries boosted by £2,212-a-year, which means they will see their pay packet rise to £84,144 from £81,932.
While in the Scottish Parliament MSPs will see their pay rise to £66,662 from £64,470 - an increase of 3.4 per cent.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), who sets MPs' pay independently of parliament and government, announced the increase in February which was widely criticised due to the current cost of living crisis.
It comes as the UK's energy regulator increased the price cap, meaning millions will be pay hundreds of pounds more for their electricity and gas.
For those on default tariffs who pay by direct debit the cap is rising by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from today.
Prepayment customers will see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.
The regulator was forced to hike the energy price cap to a record £1,971 for a typical household as gas prices soared to unprecedented highs.
Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) warned the cost of heating an average home has now doubled in 18 months, leaving 6.5 million households unable to live in a warm safe home across the UK.
NEA chief executive Adam Scorer said: "This is the biggest energy price shock in living memory.
"Millions of people will be priced out of adequate levels of heating and power. For all the anticipation of these price rises, many people on the lowest incomes will be crushed by the reality.
"Quality of life for millions of people will plummet. Warm homes, cooked food, hot water, clean clothes - all cut back or cut out. Debt will spiral. Physical and mental health will suffer.
"This energy crisis is about to bite down hard on those least able to cope."
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