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Parliamentary staffers are being squeezed by stagnating wages, damaging their mental health and forcing many to “cut back on essentials”, according to Unite.
A new survey by Unite’s Parliamentary Staff Branch found that 70 per cent of staff respondents reported having to dig into savings or use credit to cover everyday expenses in the last year. A total of 96 per cent said their financial situation was causing them stress and anxiety.
One MP’s staffer told Unite in their April 2026 survey that they “struggle to afford to eat, especially near the end of the month”, while others reported keeping their home heating switched off and taking cold showers to keep their bills down.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which allocates the budgets through which MPs pay their staff, insisted they “recognise the dedication” of staff and “continue to work closely with and respond positively to recommendations from unions”.
Unite’s survey was circulated to the office of every MP in Parliament, with 346 responses received from staff from every region and nation.
The survey found that staffers aged 18–24 have an estimated average salary of £32,229, compared with £39,676 among those aged 31–35. One staffer told Unite: “There is a complete lack of awareness of how difficult it is for younger people these days… little recognition of how low these salaries are in a time of high inflation and cost-of-living.”
Unite warned that low pay was having a “severe impact on work that staff are able to deliver”, and that there was also a “cost of high turnover to the public purse”, as MP employees seek better paid and less stressful jobs.
“Unpaid overtime is how offices keep going,” another staffer told the union. “We all do it, we do it because we care, but we do it because we have to as well, as so many of us are overwhelmed.”
According to Unite, an automatic pay uplift for MPs’ staff was successfully negotiated in 2021, but since then inflation when measured using RPI “has consistently outstripped the annual pay awards”. Unite claims that on average, MPs’ staff would now require a 10.57 per cent pay increase simply to restore the purchasing power of their salaries to 2021 levels.
Earlier this year, Unite’s Parliamentary Staff Branch overwhelmingly voted to reject a 3.5 per cent pay offer, but Ipsa refused to improve it. Ipsa points out that MPs employ their staff – not Ipsa – and Ipsa therefore does not have the power to set exactly how much they are paid.
Ipsa instead provides an automatic uplift to MPs’ staff pay, unless an MP opts out from it, though MPs can also choose to award higher increases if their staff budget – set by Ipsa – allows.
Staff were angry that MPs were themselves awarded a higher pay increase of five per cent, with one staffer telling Unite: “It is not the MP answering the phone to angry constituents, it’s not the MP sitting in the constituency office all day where people may drop round unannounced and it’s not the MP managing huge levels of casework and correspondence.
“Our pay is no longer reflective of the difficulties and pressures experienced by those of us in public facing roles.”
Fintan McDonnell, vice chair of the Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch, said the union’s survey “should shame Parliament into action”, adding: “Behind every constituency office and parliamentary office are workers who keep our democracy functioning and support constituents through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Yet many of those workers are now struggling to survive themselves.”
Responding to Unite’s findings, an Ipsa spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “We recognise the dedication of MPs and their staff, and continue to work closely with and respond positively to recommendations from unions, the Wellness Working Group, and other staff representative bodies to ensure we understand how we can best-support the people who work in MPs’ offices.
“We have recently consulted on the framework for setting MPs’ budgets, seeking feedback on the principles which should guide our decisions. The feedback we have received will be considered as we put together MPs’ budgets for the next financial year.”
They added: “We have also received feedback from some offices about the impact of rising and increasingly complex casework, alongside safety and security concerns, on the wellbeing of MPs’ staff. In response we have introduced additional, dedicated funding to support those offices facing particular pressures, alongside a ring-fenced training and wellbeing budget.
“We also have a separate budget which funds workplace adjustments for MPs’ staff in constituencies, as well as for MPs, volunteers, job applicants, or constituents visiting offices or surgeries.
“Ipsa’s role is to balance the resources MPs and their staff need with public confidence in how those resources are used.”