Thursday, August 10, 2023
Multi job MPs insult votes
It is rather sickening that the biggest headline arising from news of the millions of pounds pocketed by MPs through their second jobs focusses on the fact that the former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, is struggling to keep up with his old boss Liz Truss when it comes to earnings outside parliament since the pair left Downing Street in ignominy.
The Guardian also reports that Kwarteng admitted at the weekend that he was badly hit by his own disastrous mini-Budget – revealing his mortgage payments had soared “a great deal”. To which one can only comment that unlike many others, he can afford it.
This is especially so as Kwarteng has made £34,000 from a single overseas speech and various media appearances since he was sacked in October during Britain’s financial meltdown. This on top of his MP's salary and his pay-off when he resigned from the government:
The Tory MP for Spelthorne was handed £27,000 for a speech to bankers at the Fund Experts Forum in Switzerland in April, entitled: “ Growth Plan for Europe – How to Get Back in the Driver’s Seat”.
Mr Kwarteng has also made £4,000 for recent appearances on the Dan Wooton’s GB News programme to talk about his brief stint at No 11 and his views on economy.
However, the sums are dwarfed by the money made Ms Truss – who has managed to rake in close to £190,000 from the international speaking circuit since the Tory party kicked her out of No 10 after only six weeks.
The lucrative gigs mean the former Tory leader, the shortest-ever serving PM, now has the highest hourly rate of any current MP – making a mammoth £15,000 per hour.
Like Boris Johnson, Ms Truss is also enjoying some huge payments for speaking on global affairs, pocketing £80,000 for a recent speech in Taiwan on the threat posed by China.
Having signed up with Chartwell Speakers agency, she also received £32,000 for a speech to a newspaper in Switzerland, £65,000 for a speech to a media firm in India, and £6,000 for a speaking engagement at Tokyo University.
Ms Truss received an extra £18,000 from the taxpayer as part of the severance payments given to exiting prime minister, despite howls of outrage from Labour and the Lib Dems. Mr Kwarteng received £16,000 severance payment.
These people are elected to do a job, not to swan around the world enriching themselves. If they want to do these gigs then they should resign from Parliament. At a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet, those MPs with second jobs are taking the piss.
The Guardian also reports that Kwarteng admitted at the weekend that he was badly hit by his own disastrous mini-Budget – revealing his mortgage payments had soared “a great deal”. To which one can only comment that unlike many others, he can afford it.
This is especially so as Kwarteng has made £34,000 from a single overseas speech and various media appearances since he was sacked in October during Britain’s financial meltdown. This on top of his MP's salary and his pay-off when he resigned from the government:
The Tory MP for Spelthorne was handed £27,000 for a speech to bankers at the Fund Experts Forum in Switzerland in April, entitled: “ Growth Plan for Europe – How to Get Back in the Driver’s Seat”.
Mr Kwarteng has also made £4,000 for recent appearances on the Dan Wooton’s GB News programme to talk about his brief stint at No 11 and his views on economy.
However, the sums are dwarfed by the money made Ms Truss – who has managed to rake in close to £190,000 from the international speaking circuit since the Tory party kicked her out of No 10 after only six weeks.
The lucrative gigs mean the former Tory leader, the shortest-ever serving PM, now has the highest hourly rate of any current MP – making a mammoth £15,000 per hour.
Like Boris Johnson, Ms Truss is also enjoying some huge payments for speaking on global affairs, pocketing £80,000 for a recent speech in Taiwan on the threat posed by China.
Having signed up with Chartwell Speakers agency, she also received £32,000 for a speech to a newspaper in Switzerland, £65,000 for a speech to a media firm in India, and £6,000 for a speaking engagement at Tokyo University.
Ms Truss received an extra £18,000 from the taxpayer as part of the severance payments given to exiting prime minister, despite howls of outrage from Labour and the Lib Dems. Mr Kwarteng received £16,000 severance payment.
These people are elected to do a job, not to swan around the world enriching themselves. If they want to do these gigs then they should resign from Parliament. At a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet, those MPs with second jobs are taking the piss.
