Tory MPs earn a combined £4MILLION from their lucrative jobs on the side

Nice little earner: Geoffrey Cox, Tory MP for Torridge and West Devon

Greedy Tory MPs raked in £4milllion last year through lucrative second jobs away from Westminster.

Two top-earning Tory barristers earned more than £350,000 each – FIVE times their taxpayer-funded salary of £66,396.

Geoffrey Cox topped the league table of MPs for outside earnings by making £397,039 between March 2013 and February 2014. The Torridge and West Devon MP often charges upwards of £600 an hour for his legal services.

Fellow Tory and barrister Stephen ­Phillips QC came second with £364,499.

Former Cabinet Minister John Redwood is third on £213,852, ex Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind fouth with £213,283 and Nicholas Soames fifth on £199,005.



Cashing in: Stephen Phillips MP

Former Armed Forces Minister Mr Soames earns £8,333 for 15 hours’ work a month as a director of Aegis Defence Services Ltd.

More than one in three Tories – 125 of David Cameron’s 303 MPs – had second jobs, a Labour analysis of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests reveals.

A total of 19 Tory MPs made more than their annual salary through second jobs. And 14 pocketed more than £100,000 from work outside Parliament.

Some MPs admitted spending more than 35 hours a week on other work – time they could have put towards dealing with the needs of their constituents.

   

Big money: Nicholas Soames

Labour leader Ed Miliband has vowed that MPs would be banned from holding paid directorships or working as consultants if he became PM. He has also promised to limit how much MPs could earn from second jobs.  

The Government voted against a Labour effort to reform the law last July.

Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Michael Dugher said last night: “The current set-up is becoming more unsustainable and indefensible by the day.”

Labour has said no one will be able to stand for the party at the 2015 election if they have outside earnings of more than 15% of their MP’s pay. But people with existing jobs will be allowed to honour their contracts.

Earnings from March 2013 to February 2014
Geoffrey COX Torridge and West Devon 397,039.00
Stephen PHILLIPS Sleaford and North Hykeham 364,499.50
Rt Hon John REDWOOD Wokingham 213,852.40
Rt Hon Sir Malcolm RIFKIND Kensington 213,283.30
Hon Nicolas SOAMES Mid Sussex 199,005.90
Tim YEO South Suffolk 147,624.20
Rt Hon Stephen DORRELL Charnwood 134,000.00
Sir Tony BALDRY Banbury 131,496.00
Jacob REES-Mogg North East Somerset 123,549.50
Charles HENDRY Wealden 116,000.00
Rt Hon Peter LILLEY Hitchin and Harpenden 111,663.00
Richard FULLER Bedford 104,465.00
Andrew BRIDGEN North West Leicestershire 101,049.00
Jonathan EVANS Cardiff North 100,837.00
Jonathan DJANOGLY Huntingdon 95,361.00
Andrew MITCHELL Sutton Coldfield 92,500.00
Nadine DORRIES Mid Bedfordshire 85,666.20
Sir Edward GARNIER Harborough 83,039.30
Mark FIELD Cities of London and Westminster 71,500.00
Simon REEVELL Dewsbury 55,712.00
Stephen McPARTLAND Stevenage 47,000.00
Sir Peter LUFF Mid Worcestershire 45,166.70
Mark PRITCHARD The Wrekin 41,447.10
Rory STEWART Penrith and The Border 41,096.50
Bill WIGGIN North Herefordshire 37,702.00
Sir Edward LEIGH Gainsborough 36,908.20
Rt Hon David DAVIS Haltemprice and Howden 36,402.30
Nadhim ZAHAWI Stratford-On-Avon 33,083.40
Brian BINLEY Northampton South 33,000.00
Geoffrey CLIFTON-BROWN The Cotswolds 31,165.50
Sir Peter TAPSELL Louth and Horncastle 30,000.00
Jessica LEE Erewash 29,290.10
Fiona BRUCE Congleton 28,188.10
Sir James PAICE South East Cambridgeshire 26,500.00
Chirs SKIDMORE Kingswood 25,795.60
William CASH Stone 25,000.00
Sir Paul BERESFORD Mole Valley 23,776.00
Henry BELLINGHAM North West Norfolk 22,500.00
Rt Hon Sir John STANLEY Ton bridge and Mailing 21,600.00
Stephen O'BRIEN Eddisbury 20,000.00
Tim LOUGHTON East Worthing and Shoreham 19,160.00
Sir Gerald HOWARTH Aldershot 18,000.00
Ben WALLACE Wyre and Preson North 17,500.00
Liam FOX North Somerset 16,776.00
Simon HART Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South 16,535.00
John BARON Basildon and Billericay 16,400.00
Graham BRADY Altrincham and Sale West 16,325.00
Mike WEATHERLEY Hove 16,038.50
Steve BAKER Wycombe 15,625.00
David TREDINNICK Bosworth 15,330.40
Jake BERRY Rossendale and Darwen 15,000.00
Eleanor LAING Epping Forest 15,000.00
Phillip DUNNE Ludlow 13,754.00
Guy OPPERMAN Hexam 13,638.30
Patrick MERCER Newark 13,216.00
Nick HERBERT Arundel and South Downs 13,152.10
Andrew GRIFFITHS Burton 12,000.00
Stewart JACKSON Peterborough 10,211.00
Chris PINCHER Tamworth 10,000.00
Crispin BLUNT Reigate 9,916.70
Gareth JOHNSON Dartford 9,600.00
Bob STEWART Beckenham 7,954.00
John GLEN Salisbury 7,945.00
Mark SPENCER Sherwood 7,500.00
John STEVENSON Carlisle 7,050.00
Dominic RAAB Esher and Walton 6,236.80
Kwasi KWARTENG Spelthorne 6,197.00
David AMESS Southend West 6,150.00
Sarah WOLLASTON Totnes 5,487.00
John WHITTINGDALE Maidon 4,960.00
Phillip HOLLOBONE Kettering 4,843.00
Julian STURDY York Outer 4,500.00
Hon Bernard JENKIN Harwich and North Essex 4,450.00
Daniel KAWCZYNKI Shrewsbury and Atcham 4,000.00
Robert BUCKLAND South Swindon 3,712.80
Phillip LEE Bracknell 3,660.20
George FREEMAN Mid Norfolk 3,638.60
Rob WILSON Reading East 3,632.90
David DAVIES Monmouth 3,380.00
James DRUDDRIDGE Rochford and Southend East 3,000.00
Douglas CARSWELL Clacton 2,550.00
Julian BRAZIER Canterbury 2,355.00
Mark LANCASTER Milton Keynes North 2,087.80
Chris KELLY Dudley South 2,083.30
Mark RECKLESS Rochester and Strood 2,005.00
Damian COLLINS Folkstone and Hythe 2,000.00
Michael FABRICANT Lichfield 1,800.00
Mark PRISK Hertford and Stortford 1,750.00
Adam HOLLOWAY Gravesham 1,250.00
Phillip DAVIES Shipley 1,205.00
Rt Hon William HAGUE Richmond 1,054.40
Peter BONE Wellingborough 935
Bob BLACKMAN Harrow East 810
Caroline SPELMAN Meriden 750
Jesse NORMAN Hereford and South Herefordshire 695.20
Andrew SELOUS South West Bedfordshire 660
James GRAY North Wiltshire 655
Karl McCARTNEY Lincoln 655
David RUFFLEY Bury St. Edmonds 650
Rt Hon Sir Greg KNIGHT East Yorkshire 600
Steve BRINE Winchester 560
Simon BURNS Chelmsford 550
Glyn DAVIES Montgomeryshire 535
James MORRIS Halesowen and Rowley Regis 500
Piri PATEL Witham 500
Amber RUDD Hastings and Rye 500
Alun CAIRNS Vale of Glamorgan 460
Rehman CHRSITI Gillingham and Rainham 450
Cheryl GILLAN Chesham and Amersham 450
Matthew HANCOCK West Suffolk 409
Mel STRIDE Central Devon 400
Desmond SWAYNE New Forest West 350
Dr Therese COFFEY Suffolk Coastal 345
Henry SMITH Crawley 305
Stephen BARCLAY North East Cambridgeshire 250
Gary STREETER South West Devon 250
Rt. Hon Sir Alan HASELHURST Saffron Walden 212.70
Jeremy LEFROY Stafford 200
Laurence ROBERTSON Tewkesbury 150
Claire PERRY Devizes 100
Nick GIBB Bognor Regis and Littlehampton 80
Andrew PERCY Brigg and Goole 75
Michael GROVE Surrey Heath
Andrew TYRIE Chichester
David WILLETTS Havant
£4,013,421

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tory-mps-earn-combined-4million-3296636#ixzz2xUY4mDrB
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We're all in this together. Makes a mockery of that statement, doesn't it.

Irn Bru wrote:We're all in this together. Makes a mockery of that statement, doesn't it.

It's always been 'Us And Them'   

so does labour and liberals,why pick on tories?

Probably because of the proposal Ed Miliband is making. This from July last year:

Ed Miliband’s decision to clamp down on the number of Labour MPs who have second jobs caused some surprise the other week.Following the 2015 general election no Labour MP will be able to work more than the value of 15% of their salary.Miliband called on other parties to follow suit. The way this story was reported suggested that if this policy was a stealth attack on the Conservative Party. But why?

There are a number of Labour MPs who have second jobs and additional earnings in recent years. Gordon Brown donates all of his £1.37M of outside earnings to charity which is preferable to financially profiting himself, but that’s still not fully satisfactory.

He’s either an MP or he’s not. Most recently former minister David Blunkett has decided to cash in for Oracle Capital Group while still serving as an MP. Conservative MPs profit four times as much as their Labour counterparts. Conservative MPs have personally benefited from £4.3M of outside work.

Why is it that so many more Tories think it is acceptable to profit from these directorships, consultancies and outside work?

Nadine Dorries received a huge amount of criticism for her appearance on a reality TV programme, but far less visible is the very well paid consultancies of her colleagues. Geoffrey Cox took made £417,000 from his work as a barrister alongside being an MP. Was Nadine’s crime a lack of discretion? How that must have grated with her. Perhaps the typical Conservative MP’s constituencies aren’t as demanding as those in less affluent constituencies of Labour colleagues who have to deal with huge volumes of case work on benefits, immigration and housing matters?

But there must be issues of concern in true blue heartlands that need raising? Surely Conservative MPs would want to be pressing for new policies or legislation on issues that matter to them while their party is in office? Or at least trying to curry favour for promotion? Diligent Lib Dem MPs don’t have time to take up such paid work. They’re more likely to be found either in government or are tramping the streets defending their seats.

The argument put forward by some is that additional jobs enhance their work. I find that hard to swallow. If it does assist their job then do it for free.

I don’t see any MPs taking on minimum wage jobs or volunteering in a food bank as party of their additional activity to inform their work. Is it really a coincidence that almost all the additional jobs come with a bag of swag?

When Lynton Crosby was to give the Conservative Party impartial advice it would be to emphasise the party’s sense of public service in ‘making tough decisions to put the country on a firm economic footing’. They should be following similar proposals to those of the Labour leader in the run up to the general election and try and demonstrate how they have some inkling of how the other half live.

Cameron’s dismissal of a limit to MP’s additional earnings suggests he doesn’t want to ruffle the feathers of his backbenchers, making him a sitting duck.

Labour’s position on second jobs wasn’t a throwaway line in a speech or some summer parliamentary antics – Ed Miliband is deadly serious about it.

He’s right to do so. So many moonlighting MPs undermine parliament and diminish further the standing of MPs. Something stinks when affluent MP preach the need to cap the benefits of the poor but not their own earning power while they’re MPs.

If the Liberal Democrats had any sense then they’d follow suit and back the Ed Miliband’s proposals. It’s ethically and politically the right thing to do.

http://www.deeside.com/local-gov/blog-why-do-so-many-tory-mps-have-second-jobs/


If they have jobs outside HOC it limits their time doing what they should be doing. There are a few Labour MPs, but Miliband wants to limit it, Cameron doesn't.

Millionaire Ed Miliband inherited a share of a multi-million pound property from his Marxist father, some nifty footwork by him and his brother David allowed them to avoid paying six-figure inheritance taxes. Combining marital assets and his inheritance from his father Ralph, Ed himself is comfortably a millionaire.

Millionaress Harriet Harman, privately educated at St Paul’s girls school (Osborne went to St Paul’s boys school) is, given her eighteen year parliamentary career, set to get at least a half a million pounds from her pension pot. Along with her husband’s salary and pension, things are looking comfortable with one house in Herne Hill and a country pile in Suffolk. Putting the trade unionist and the toff well into the millionaire’s class…

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper trousered a joint household income of some £300,000 per year for their five years or so in goverment positions. Ed trousered nigh on £100,000 in 2005 for writing a few pamphlets for Gordon Brown’s now struck-off dubious charity known as the Smith Institute. With the couple’s triple-house-flipping, generous expenses claims, on top of their ministerial salaries and taking into account their gold-plated ministerial pension pots, they will comfortably have a net worth that puts the power couple in the millionaire’s bracket by now. Though they are however down to a meagre two homes…

I won't even mention Tony Blair...!!

please don't mention T B when I'm eating, thank you.

Tesstacious wrote:Millionaire Ed Miliband inherited a share of a multi-million pound property from his Marxist father, some nifty footwork by him and his brother David allowed them to avoid paying six-figure inheritance taxes. Combining marital assets and his inheritance from his father Ralph, Ed himself is comfortably a millionaire.

Millionaress Harriet Harman, privately educated at St Paul’s girls school (Osborne went to St Paul’s boys school) is, given her eighteen year parliamentary career, set to get at least a half a million pounds from her pension pot. Along with her husband’s salary and pension, things are looking comfortable with one house in Herne Hill and a country pile in Suffolk. Putting the trade unionist and the toff well into the millionaire’s class…

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper trousered a joint household income of some £300,000 per year for their five years or so in goverment positions. Ed trousered nigh on £100,000 in 2005 for writing a few pamphlets for Gordon Brown’s now struck-off dubious charity known as the Smith Institute. With the couple’s triple-house-flipping, generous expenses claims, on top of their ministerial salaries and taking into account their gold-plated ministerial pension pots, they will comfortably have a net worth that puts the power couple in the millionaire’s bracket by now. Though they are however down to a meagre two homes…

I won't even mention Tony Blair...!!

Yes, but this is about MPs having second jobs over and above their job in looking after their constituents. No problem with the writing articles for newspapers etc. because they are using the media to promote their policies.

The Labour policy does appear to address these issues.

Tesstacious wrote:Millionaire Ed Miliband inherited a share of a multi-million pound property from his Marxist father, some nifty footwork by him and his brother David allowed them to avoid paying six-figure inheritance taxes. Combining marital assets and his inheritance from his father Ralph, Ed himself is comfortably a millionaire.

Millionaress Harriet Harman, privately educated at St Paul’s girls school (Osborne went to St Paul’s boys school) is, given her eighteen year parliamentary career, set to get at least a half a million pounds from her pension pot. Along with her husband’s salary and pension, things are looking comfortable with one house in Herne Hill and a country pile in Suffolk. Putting the trade unionist and the toff well into the millionaire’s class…

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper trousered a joint household income of some £300,000 per year for their five years or so in goverment positions. Ed trousered nigh on £100,000 in 2005 for writing a few pamphlets for Gordon Brown’s now struck-off dubious charity known as the Smith Institute. With the couple’s triple-house-flipping, generous expenses claims, on top of their ministerial salaries and taking into account their gold-plated ministerial pension pots, they will comfortably have a net worth that puts the power couple in the millionaire’s bracket by now. Though they are however down to a meagre two homes…

I won't even mention Tony Blair...!!

Hmmmm! Can't stand Tony Blair, but he has been making money all that money AFTER he left parliament. The Smith Institute is still going strong: http://www.adamsmith.org/

In any case, none of that is relevant. The subject is people taking other jobs which takes them away from the HOC while they are elected MPs, which should be taking up all their time. Gordon Brown most definitely should be appearing in the HOC more, but the majority of Labour and Liberal don't have second jobs, or, if they do, they are low paying and don't take up much time, with a very few exceptions. And Ed Miliband is now going to do something about that.

David Cameron on the other hand, is perfectly happy for Conservatives to spend large amounts of time on business outside the HOC, will not do anything about it, and who do you think the loyalties lie of people receiving more than double their MPs salary from outside firms? Indeed, most of them lobby like mad for the companies they work for, and that simply is not right.