I understand that MPs are to receive a pay increase of 2.5 per cent, meaning their pay has risen by about 25 per cent in 10 years. This is not a scandal. Shaping the nation’s affairs is vital to our well being: those charged with that task should be paid accordingly.

However, there is a scandal to be addressed. The £82K MPs receive is a minor part of their recompense. They are also able to claim - without receipts - expenses for the most mundane of items: the average MP’s domestic expense claim is in the region of £75K. I understand that further benefits include free rail travel, the ability to employ spouses and relatives without the need to go through formal interviews, and subsidised food and drink at Westminster.

Possibly the most egregious scandal, however, is that helping to shape the nation’s affairs is not deemed sufficiently important to take up all of their time. It is well know that they often seek employment as ‘consultants’, ‘advisers’ and in second jobs.

I want my MP to be single-minded in the pursuit of the best for the nation and their constituents. Of course, experience beyond the chamber is vital: but once elected an MP, they should be well-paid for the job in hand, and nowt else.

David Lewis, Church End,

Cawood, Selby