With a cost of living crisis engulfing the country, the news that Members of Parliament from all parties are raking in huge incomes in addition to their generous parliamentary salaries feels particularly galling.
New research by Sky News and Tortoise Media, titled the Westminster Accounts, has exposed the extent of some MPs’ additional incomes – via donations and second jobs. It shows that MPs have earned a total of £17.1m from work outside of Parliament since 2019 and have received hundred of thousands of pounds in donations from trade unions, companies and even nation states.
Seventeen of the 20 highest earning MPs are Conservatives – with former Prime Minister Theresa May in the top spot, raking in a colossal £2.5m to complement her MP’s salary of £84,144 – and the party accounts for 89 per cent of all external income.
However, Labour is not left unscathed. Under successive leaderships, Labour has committed to banning second jobs for MPs. Current leader Keir Starmer made this a central part of his brand in the aftermath of the Owen Paterson scandal in 2021, when he made a speech committing to “ban all second jobs for MPs, with very limited exceptions”. But as this new research embarrassingly shows, the problem isn’t confined to the Conservatives. Two of the highest earning MPs are not only Labour, but sit on the Labour frontbench: David Lammy and Jess Phillips.
While it is entirely legal for MPs to have second jobs – provided they declare them and are not a minister – they are elected to represent their constituents. It’s a full-time job that pays handsomely, too – around £84,000 a year (with additional payments for ministers and chairs of select committees), with generous expenses and benefits. MPs’ sole loyalty should be to the people who elected them and the platform on which they were elected, not to feather their own nests or advance their own careers.
When more and more people are falling into debt, losing their homes or waiting in pain for an operation, there is nothing more important for MPs to be doing than helping them, lobbying government on their behalf, and assisting them to navigate the state to get the support they need.
Labour – the clue is in the name – was the party founded by the labour movement and trade unions, to represent the interests of working class people. It’s therefore not surprising to learn that many Labour MPs have received donations from trade unions.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, however, has raked in nearly £90,000 a year from hosting a regular show on LBC, while additionally receiving tens of thousands of pounds giving dozens of speeches to various corporates including banks, auditors, pharmaceutical companies, and even a private school.
The constituents of Tottenham and indeed his shadow cabinet colleagues might be entitled to ask if he is pulling his weight. Jess Phillips, meanwhile, earned £162,000, which included a book advance and fee for appearing on the BBC’s Have I Got News For You.
Starmer defended Lammy in an interview with Sophy Ridge, saying “media work and writing books is all part of the political process”. But while the public rightly expects politicians to be held to account in the media, that doesn’t mean they should become the media. Matt Hancock, for appearing on I’m a Celebrity…, and Boris Johnson, for writing a Telegraph column for £250,000 a year when London Mayor, were both roundly condemned at the time by the Labour Party.
If Labour is serious about cracking down on second jobs, then it should be showing it sets higher standards for its MPs. Despite making that statement over a year ago, the party has never issued any guidance to its MPs and neither has it stated what limited exceptions might be.
One of the longstanding exemptions that has been widely acknowledged when this subject has been discussed previously is the need to maintain professional qualifications (e.g. nurses and doctors). In the last Parliament, Lincoln’s MP Karen Lee worked as a nurse and current Labour MP and shadow health minister Rosena Allin-Khan did shifts at St George’s Hospital in her constituency. While some hardline critics may argue that if MPs want to continue to be nurses, doctors, or firefighters then they shouldn’t opt to become MPs, most would acknowledge the public service involved.
Many MPs who come to the Commons have worked as lawyers. Most, including Labour’s shadow cabinet member Emily Thornberry and backbencher Richard Burgon, declare no outside earnings in relation to their previous profession.
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However Geoffrey Cox, the former Attorney General under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, has declared more than £2m in earnings. His clients have included the government of British Virgin Islands – a tax haven. Cox spent one month resident in the Caribbean in 2021 doing this work rather than representing his constituents in Torridge and West Devon.
Similarly, although on a smaller scale, the Labour leader Keir Starmer has, as previously reported by i, declared £115,000 of earnings from giving advice to law firms. When shadow Brexit Secretary in 2017, Starmer had previously raised the possibility of working for city law firm Mishcon de Reya having been offered work. However his request was turned down by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who refused to allow his shadow cabinet to take secondary employment.
As with the MPs expenses scandal, and subsequent lobbying scandals, a few bad apples can leave the impression that the entire barrel is rotten. And while some cases are more festering than others, clarity and transparency are the best antidote.
Having previously announced, if not implemented, a clear policy stance, Keir Starmer should welcome the opportunity granted by the Westminster Accounts to set far higher standards for both Labour MPs and peers. That would demonstrate the strong leadership he frequently declares and give voters a clear dividing line in what they should expect from a Labour MP.
In a Parliament mired by scandal and sleaze, a dedicated approach to the public service of democratic representation could be a vote winner.
Andrew Fisher is the former executive director of policy at the Labour Party
