Because a £77,000 a year as an MP isn't enough
Parliamentary data revealed yesterday that former Brexit secretary David Davis is now making £3,000 an hour, advising JCB.
On top of this, he’s earning £36,000 to sit on the board of a German metal manufacturer and earns £16,000 per speech for the London Speakers Bureau.
He’s not the only one though. Here’s 8 MPs with very cushy outside jobs on top of their £77,000 a year for representing their constituents. Clearly that’s not a full-time salary or job.
1.Boris Johnson
The former Foreign Secretary’s speaking fees leave Davis’s measly £16,000 in the dust.
In November, he earned £95,000 for speaking to an American asset management company. That was two hours work.
He earns over £2,000 an hour for his column in the Telegraph and was paid a similar fee for a Daily Mail article in November.
Sometimes, he doesn’t even work for his cash. A hedge fund manager nicknamed Keyser Soze gave him £50,000 in October.
And JCB gave him £10,000 a few weeks ago. Days later, he gave a high-profile speech at a JCB factory in which he praised the company.
2. Jacob Rees-Mogg
As a partner in Somerset Capital Management, he receives about £30,000 a month. For this, he says he works 30 hours – £1,000 for every hour worked.
While Rees-Mogg is remorselessly positive about Brexit, his firm has warned clients about the “considerable uncertainty” it might bring and has set up an investment fund in Ireland.
3.Michael Fallon
Another former minister cashing in by giving speeches, the former Defence Secretary earns up to £6,000 a speech.
In September 2018, for example, he was paid £5,000 by a “special situations investment company” based in the tax haven of Guernsey.
4. Andrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell resigned in disgrace as chief whip when a police officer claimed he called him a “pleb”.
Mitchell denied this but a judge ruled he had probably used the word and Mitchell had to pay £60,000 to the officer in a libel case.
The comment has not affected his earning potential though as he advises no fewer than four companies – Investec, Ernst and Young, Montrose Associates and UK Global Health Care Limited.
For this, he receives £112,000 a year for twenty days work.
5. Michael Gove
While his salary at the Times isn’t quite as high as his rival Boris Johnson’s is at the Telegraph, £12,500 isn’t bad for a day’s work.
6. Henry Bellingham
He first entered Parliament in 1983 at the same time as Tony Blair but has only held one junior minister position in all his time in Parliament.
While his success in politics has been limited, he is making a lot of money. His four advisory roles bring him in £115,000 a year. For that, he works about 25 days.
7. Greg Hands
The former trade and treasury minister earns £9,000 a month advising French bank BNP Paribas.
8. Bill Wiggin
The backbencher is the director of two fund platforms in the Cayman Islands and two in Bermuda. He earns about £50,000 a year from this.
Joe Lo is a freelance journalist and reporter for Left Foot Forward
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