Tongues are wagging that the UK’s shortest-serving former PM, whose premiership managed to cost the country a staggering £30bn, fancies a bit of hosting on the right-wing network.
First it was right-wing husband and wife team Esther McVey and Philip Davies, then it was Jacob Rees-Mogg, followed by ‘30p Lee’ Anderson. A string of Tory MPs are turning to presenting on the Fox-style news channel, GB News.
Tongues are wagging that the UK’s shortest-serving former PM, whose premiership managed to cost the country a staggering £30bn, is eyeing up a hosting gig on the controversial network.
The rumours started after Truss appeared at a small parliamentary soiree thrown by the right-wing, ‘anti-woke’ broadcaster. Apparently, the former PM, stayed a long time for drinks at the TV station.
Whether the reports hold any truth or not, they certainly sent the Twittersphere into a frenzy, with plenty of ridicule shared.
“I’d rather watch paint dry,” wrote one user.
“Are they actively trying to lose one of their two viewers?” asked another.
The rumour also reignited contempt towards MPs having second jobs. The Conservative deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, revealed he will be paid £100,000 a year for hosting a show on GB News. The fee will him the highest-earning Tory MP at the channel. This is a significant increase on the £200 a week the MP for Ashfield reportedly receives for appearing as a regular on Dan Wootton’s weekly GB News show.
In 2022, Tatton MP Esther McVey earned £58,000 as a presenter on the channel, netting an average £900 per episode. Philip Davies, MP for Shipley and McVey’s husband, was paid £46,203 in the same year, an average £679 per episode.
How much Liz Truss would be paid if she managed to secure her own hosting slot on the opinionated news network, remains to be seen.
Perhaps the former PM’s attendance at the GB News’ parliamentary function suggests that her bid to revive her political career in the US didn’t go quite to plan.
Last week, the MP for South West Norfolk gave a speech at the right-wing think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, where she insisted she was right all along, despite the fact her disastrous mini-budget left the economy in tatters. Truss was also keen to present herself as the victim of a vast political conspiracy.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
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