MSP salary to rise by 4.3% in April

The salary for MSPs will increase by 4.3% in April, it has been announced.

Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw – a member of the cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) – informed the Finance and Public Administration Committee of the decision on Tuesday.

The increase, which will see the annual MSP salary rise from £74,507 to £77,710, will come into effect on April 1, with the increase calculated using Office for National Statistics (ONS) average weekly earnings index for September.

Speaking to the committee, Mr Carlaw said: “No doubt you’ll be aware that MSP salaries continue to sit below counterparts in Westminster and, indeed, the Senedd.

“Over the period 2021-22 to 2026-27 MSP pay is lagging 8.2 percentage points behind (the consumer price index), which equates to around £5,300 over the period.

“Had members’ salaries risen in line with inflation, they would now be £83,000 rather than £77,710.

“I don’t say this to virtue-signal, but to counter the inevitable reporting of any increase generated by actions of the corporate body, I’d point out that this still leaves us behind Westminster and the Senedd when the initial arrangement between the three parliaments was that the Scottish Parliament MSP pay sat in the middle of the three.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said: “MSPs’ pay will rise by 4.3% in line with the annualised average weekly earnings index figure for September 2025.

“Over a six-year period, MSPs’ pay is lagging 8.2 percentage points below the CPI rate of inflation, which equates to approximately £5,300.”