It is a rule of Manx politics that any review of Tynwald members’ pay will result in unhelpful headlines, public indignation and political cold feet.

The latest example is the Cochrane report and its recommended restructuring of remuneration, portrayed in the local media as ’a pay rise for MHKs’.

The independent report was finally accepted by Tynwald at its November sitting, after a protracted debate in which a nervous chamber came close to kicking the issue into the long grass.

The first thing to note about this particular ’pay rise’ is that it is highly unusual. It has the effect of reducing the take-home pay of the majority of members and of lowering the total wages bill.

According to media reports, the salaries of MLCs will go down after the next general election while those of MHKs will go up. The former assertion is correct but the latter is misleading.

It is true that the basic salary of MHKs will be larger, but this will be more than offset by scrapping their lump sum for expenses and ending extra payment for departmental work.

A settlement in which one component of remuneration is increased while others are removed, to produce a net reduction, would struggle to qualify as a ’pay rise’ in any other context.

Calculations of the impact of the restructuring have been complicated by the tax-free nature of the fixed allowance for expenses.

When this is taken into account, the current package of basic plus lump sum and departmental uplift works out at the equivalent of a fully taxed salary of £65,777.

The new overall salary for an MHK will be slightly less than this, at £65,098. (All figures at 2019/20 rates, as shown in the report.)

The big difference, of course, is that backbenchers will receive the full remuneration whether or not they serve as members of government departments. Most will continue to do so, because departmental service is seen as real hands-on work and essential experience on the way to becoming a minister.

However, those MHKs who choose to focus on the important business of scrutiny, challenging government and holding it to account, will no longer suffer a financial penalty for remaining outside of the departmental network.

This recognition of the equal value of scrutiny roles weakens the power of ministerial patronage, and is a significant step towards achieving a healthier balance in our democracy.

The introduction of a salary differential between MHKs and MLCs, reflecting the additional burden of constituency responsibilities, is also welcome, as is the abolition of the unseemly lump sum.

The Cochrane report, then, should help to change the culture of Manx politics for the better. But it was very nearly shelved by members frightened by the ’pay rise’ headlines - or rather by the public’s reaction to those headlines less than a year away from a general election.

When the matter was first debated at the October Tynwald, it was clear that some members had been getting it in the neck from outraged constituents. One MHK urged colleagues to give weight to the perceptions of ’the man on the Castletown omnibus’, who saw politicians feathering their own nests.

Those against endorsing the outcome of the independent review almost won the day. They argued that what was really needed was, err, an independent review, but one without parameters set by Tynwald and perhaps even conducted by off-Island experts.

It was eventually agreed that in future members’ remuneration should be determined by a new and autonomous body, so that the chamber is never again in the invidious position of voting on its own pay arrangements.

The creation of such a body will require legislation and fresh resources, which could take years. In the meantime the Cochrane reforms will come into effect.

Talking about their salaries is dangerous for members because it triggers public prejudice against them. It is an article of faith for many ordinary folk that politicians as a class are self-serving and over-rewarded. And the media knows that headlines which play to popular resentment will always engage the audience.

MHKs and MLCs are well remunerated but their job is important and difficult, when done properly. They need integrity to make hard decisions, and courage and skill to defend those decisions when they prove controversial.

This means disagreeing with the man on the Castletown omnibus when he has got the wrong end of the stick, and explaining why he is in error.

Politicians who run away from this challenge are abrogating their public responsibility and, ironically, failing to earn their money.