Naming Names

As well as talking in general terms about the outside earnings of some Westminster MPs - The Times goes on to name and give details about what these 'honourable members' earn on top of their day jobs.

Gordon Brown - the former Labour Prime Minister - who tops the list has been quick to spring to his own defence - but misses the key point which is: 'Why doesn't he just resign from his day job as an MP and get on with his life?'

I will have more to say about Gordon Brown's comments soon - but for the moment let the article from The Times have its say.           

How some MPs are making the most of life outside the House

Dozens of MPs are earning tens of thousands of pounds from outside interests on top of their parliamentary income, an analysis by The Times has found.

As well as drawing a salary of £65,738 for their role in Westminster and their constituencies, MPs are juggling their political work with jobs in law, consultancy, business and medicine. Some are committing as many as 80 hours a month to outside work, raising questions about their ability to keep up with the demands of their elected role.

After the expenses scandal, few MPs dared to ratchet up more than a few thousand pounds in outside earnings. But six-figure sums now appear to be commonplace.

One MP warned that the public would just see “snouts in the trough”, especially at a time when most ordinary voters are feeling the pinch. But several of his colleagues made a robust defence of outside work, arguing that it enriched the House of Commons at a time when fewer politicians have experience of working in the “real world”.

The Times examined the annual earnings of all MPs as declared on the register of members’ interests, as well as the number of hours worked, and found:

• A total of 68 MPs now make more than £10,000 a year each from outside earnings;
• Between them they earned almost £6 million;
• 18 MPs earned more than £100,000. 

Sme of the names that make the list of the 21 biggest earners are unsurprising. Gordon Brown beats a host of former statesmen to the top of the league, with an annual income of more than £900,000 from work as an academic, author, and speechmaker to policymakers and business figures. David Miliband, Malcolm Rifkind and Alistair Darling are not far behind.

There are three barristers in the top 20. One of them, Geoffrey Cox, spends up to 20 hours a week on legal work.

Some, such as David Blunkett, the former Labour Home Secretary, are heavily involved in consultancy and advisory roles to business and industry.

John Redwood, a Cabinet minister in John Major’s Government, earns almost £138,000 in his role as a chairman and adviser to several engineering and investment companies. When contacted, he said: “I don’t want to talk about it, thanks very much,” before putting down the phone.

Others were more willing to justify their outside interests. Mark Field, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, said that being a backbench MP “is not and should not be a full-time job”.

He argued that many MPs gained valuable “real world” experience from their non-parliamentary work. “I think it’s actually quite healthy for MPs to keep abreast with the outside world.”

Peter Lilley, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, earns more than £102,000 a year as a director and adviser to information and energy companies. He said that most outside workloads paled in comparison with those of government ministers, who have to maintain their constituency work on top of a demanding ministerial role.

Jonathan Evans, MP for Cardiff North, said that having a precarious majority meant that he felt it important to retain ties to the private sector.

Outside earnings do not appear to have any predictable impact on voting records. Attendance varies from 45 per cent (David Miliband) to 96 per cent (Jacob Rees-Mogg). Stephen Phillips, who spent an estimated 82 days on legal work over a 12-month period, has voted in 93 per cent of votes in the Parliament — well above the average.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who earns £122,000 as a partner in an investment management firm, said voters could make up their own minds about whether their representatives were taking on too much. “If you spend too much time on outside interests that is now declared so the voters can see that. If they think you are doing your job they can re-elect you, or otherwise,” he said.

Some of those who feature on the list draw large incomes with minimal day-to-day input thanks to successful business interests established before they entered Westminster.

John Hemming, Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, said that having an outside income of £150,000 gave him greater freedom to speak his mind. “If you upset the party hierarchy you can find you lose your job as an MP,” he said.

Gordon Brown - a clarification

This article reports that, according to the register of members’ interests, Gordon Brown had an “annual income” in the year to July 2012 of more than £900,000 from work as an academic, author and speechmaker. The accompanying graphic (see tab) states that more than £33,000 of this money was paid to charity and that the rest was not for personal gain but “goes towards the running costs of his office and staff”. We are happy to make it clear that Mr Brown’s only personal income is his salary as an MP; he has declined the pension that he is entitled to as a former Prime Minister. All money from his speeches and writings goes to the Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown to fund his and his wife’s charitable and public service work, including, as its website states, £508,729 in charitable donations in a continuing programme of disbursements. Mr Brown has asked us to make clear that not one penny goes to him. We are happy to do so.