Should salaries from all publicly paid jobs for one person never exceed the PM's salary, £174,039 in 2026/27?
The Prime Minister receives a combined salary of approximately £174,000–£182,000 in 2026/27, consisting of the MP basic salary of £98,599 plus a ministerial top-up (currently claimed at £75,440 though statutorily entitled to £83,837). Many senior public sector roles such as certain civil service permanent secretaries, NHS executives, quango chairs and some combined public appointments already pay between £150,000 and £250,000 or more. The proposal would prevent any one person from receiving pay from more than one publicly funded position if the total exceeded the Prime Minister's salary.
6 Opinions
I'd much rather ban most second jobs, except in Healthcare or military attachments, and we went for a Singaporean style system where talent is sought and paid for appropriately, often much higher than we pay now, to get the very best for the job, to get departments functioning and world class.
The PM can wipe 30bn off GDP with a single bad call, and yet we give the job to someone with no track record or experience, and pay 175k a year. That is the dumbest saving ever, if we paid more like a fortune 500 CEO, you could expect similar skill level, trust and experience. Even pay each MP a 5M bonus every year they hit 5pc GDP growth, it focuses minds, whilst netting the UK Govt 4x that in revenue.
No public service job warrants a salary greater than £150,000 pa
This seems pretty sensible. People reporting to the person running the country have, by definition, fewer responsibilities and less pressure. If my idea for Designated Non-Partisan Services takes off, that should not apply. Because they will operate in the free market.
I think there are a great many other civil servants, officers of the courts, police chiefs, health board directors, and other public servants who do much more meaningful work than the prime minister, who is really only head of the commons and an important part of the legislature. I seem to recall in an Irish times article that the heads of An Post, Eircom, Iarnrod Eireann, ESB, and the Water Board all made multiples more than the Taoiseach, who made much more than the UK PM!
What's the rental value of the 10 Downing Street flat?