Remuneration of politicians is a key issue in the relationship between citizens and politicians (Dekker, 2013), not least because decisions regarding such remuneration may affect the public’s level of trust in the politicians and the political system (Hibbing & Theiss‐Morse, 2002; Hood & Peters, 1994, Chapter 1). Recent empirical studies have investigated the degree to which levels of pay can affect the recruitment, motivation and performance of politicians (Braendle, 2015; Carnes & Hansen, 2016; Fisman, Harmon, Kamenica, & Munk, 2015; Hoffman & Lyons, 2013; Keane & Merlo, 2010), and the classical political thinkers put the question of the size of remuneration at the centre of their thoughts on good government.