MPs pay has risen sharply since the 1970s – but it is outside earnings that should really concern

There is a long tradition of elected representatives in the UK drawing income from activities ‘external’ to their work in parliament. In part, this tradition reflects the belated acceptance of a need to pay MPs a full salary. In the 2012 Audit of UK democracy, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Andrew Blick and Stephen Crone looked at the history of MPs pay from both inside and outside of Parliament.