Westminster Accounts: Middlemen, brokers, and clients – who really pays MPs for their other jobs?
Thirty-eight MPs have taken on second jobs where the ultimate party paying them is unclear, according to Sky News’ analysis of the MPs’ Register of Financial Interests.
The jobs mainly involve MPs being paid through a broker – a consultancy business, a communications firm, or a speakers’ bureau – while not declaring the clients they are working for.
It casts doubt on the systems which are supposed to ensure transparency around MPs’ earnings.
The analysis was conducted as part of the Westminster Accounts – a Sky News and Tortoise Media project that aims to shine a light on money in UK politics.
But this light has made the remaining shadows all the more stark.
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Ex-cabinet minister Sir John Whittingdale provides one of the clearest examples of these cases, but two current ministers – Andrew Mitchell and Johnny Mercer – also appear to fall into this category. Some MPs told Sky News they had signed contracts restricting them from being transparent about the clients they’d worked with.
It begs the question of who is really influencing UK politicians, with Transparency International saying the findings could suggest there’s a “culture of opacity” among some MPs.
MPs are supposed to give details about their non-parliamentary earnings in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
On the face of it, that is what Sir John has done.
He’s a former culture secretary and a long-serving MP with a wealth of political experience. He’s been offering his insight, as MPs are entitled to do, via a company called AlphaSights, which connects experts like him with its clients.
But it remains unknown who the clients Sir John spoke to are.
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He’s reported in his public filings that he’s received more than £10,500 from AlphaSights to tap into his expertise across 17 different engagements.
He was quizzed earlier this year on two of these dealings by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), the watchdog overseeing ex-ministers’ jobs, after he failed to seek approval for this work from the committee.
He was deemed not to have broken any rules, however, as he told the chair of ACOBA that he had no long-term relationship with AlphaSights and they were separate “one-off” speeches he delivered. Prior approval is not necessary for one-off speeches.
However, this seems hard to reconcile with the fact that Sir John has had 15 other engagements with AlphaSights since 2017, as the Westminster Accounts help reveal. And an ex-AlphaSights employee has told Sky News that rather than “speeches”, the work typically involves attending a meeting or having a call with two or three people from the client company.
These clients, who pay a fee for the privilege, are usually investment firms and consultancies looking for insight from experts to help make business decisions.
Sir John did not respond to questions from Sky News regarding who these clients were.
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It is a clear example where the companies paying to contract an MP’s services, and the company reported publicly in the Register of Interests – AlphaSights in this case – differ.
Sir John’s case is just one of many where these questions apply.
Defence minister Mr Mercer, for example, declared payments of £3,600 and £1,110 in 2021 for two speaking engagements from Chartwell Speakers, a speaker agency.
No details are given in the register as to who the clients acting through the agency were, as MPs are usually expected to report in these instances.
Beyond speeches and individual engagements, there is a wider group of 11 MPs who are on the books of communications or political consultancies who often don’t give details about the clients they work with.
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MPs’ second jobs – what are the rules?
International development minister Mr Mitchell, for example, had been working as an advisor to Montrose Associates until last October, when he returned to government as a minister.
Montrose Associates is a strategic consultancy which, according to its website, draws on “access to privileged networks of decision-makers” when advising its clients.
Mr Mitchell received more than £340,000 for around 75 days of work since taking up the role in 2013. Exactly which clients he worked with and what he did cannot be known from the cursory description of his work given in the Register of Interests.
This lack of transparency creates particular problems for holding ex-ministers to account. They often undertake new roles on the condition they refrain from lobbying government on behalf of clients of their employers.
Tracey Crouch, another former minister, received approval from ACOBA to become a senior advisor to communications firm The Playbook between February 2018 and March 2020. Her role was to advise some of The Playbook’s clients in the technology and energy sector.
But who these clients were has not been reported in the public record. This was despite ACOBA advising Ms Crouch she couldn’t lobby on behalf of The Playbook’s clients for two years after leaving government.
There is no suggestion Ms Crouch – or any other MP – has broken lobbying rules. But Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, has cast doubt on the systems designed to ensure politicians aren’t being unduly influenced.
“ACOBA is a paper tiger – it has no teeth, no ability to enforce the advice that it gives,” he said.
“And there’s a broader question about whether these omissions reflect a wider culture of opacity within parliament, at least among some members, that needs challenging. That’s more of a cultural issue, which may be harder to shift.”
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There is also another group of MPs who have financial interests that may not be apparent from public disclosures.
Ten MPs have had employment with investment or private equity funds where there is a reasonable expectation they will be advising or making investment decisions about firms within the portfolios of these parent companies.
Yet the current rules – or the enforcement around them – put little onus on MPs to report these details.
David Davis, for example, the former Brexit secretary, sits on the advisory board of THI Holdings GmbH, an investment firm that declares holdings in seven companies on its website.
One of these companies is Oxford International Education Group – where Conservative MP Chris Skidmore sits on the advisory board. Were Mr Skidmore to speak in parliament on higher education issues, he would be expected to draw attention to his financial interest in this area.
But from what Mr Davis has disclosed, it is far more difficult to understand how ACOBA’s advice – which stated that Mr Davis should not lobby on behalf of THI’s subsidiaries in the two years after leaving government in 2019 – could be easily enforced.
Mr Davis is far from alone in working for one of these firms. Andrew Mitchell, Johnathan Djanogly, Richard Fuller, Bim Afolami, Alun Cairns and Stephen McPartland have all had positions with boutique investment firms in the past three years. There is no suggestion these MPs have broken any rules.
A spokesperson for Mr Mitchell told Sky News that all his outside business interests have always been properly registered in the normal way. Mr Mercer, Ms Crouch, and Mr Davis did not respond when asked for comment.
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‘We all welcome transparency’
MPs more likely to ask questions in parliament after taking up jobs in finance
Recent research from Dr Simon Weschle, author of Money In Politics, shows that MPs in certain types of second jobs behave differently.
He found that MPs were more likely to ask questions in parliament after taking up jobs in finance or the legal profession.
Dr Weschle said the lack of detail disclosed around these jobs makes it difficult to know if this amounts to lobbying, which would break the rules.
He said: “They could be asking more questions for a number of other reasons or for a reason directly relating to their work… but because we don’t know who they’re advising, who they have holdings in – who they’re ultimately working for – it’s really hard to make that connection.”
One reason MPs may not disclose further details is if doing so may conflict with professional practices.
Ten current MPs, for example, have worked as lawyers and accountants this parliament without naming their clients. Some may feel it inappropriate to disclose the firms or individuals contracting their services.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, for instance, is one MP who has reported payments for giving legal advice with little detail offered as to the source of these funds. Sir Geoffrey Cox, who has earned more than £2m in legal fees this parliament, is another who provides details of the chambers who pay him, but rarely his clients.
Sky News understands there are no professional standards rules in the legal or accountancy profession that would stop MPs disclosing their clients, unless they expressly requested anonymity.
Some MPs involved in business consulting have told Sky News they have signed contracts that prevent them from naming clients publicly.
Yet if these obligations are sometimes the reason for a lack of disclosure, it calls into question the rules which at times seem to put MPs’ private interests above the transparency of the system. In some places, like the US, this problem has been solved by banning politicians from having second jobs.
Dr Weschle thinks there’s room for reform in the UK: “It seems to be that second jobs clearly undermine the public’s trust in politicians… so we should think about whether certain kinds of jobs should be more restricted, or whether MPs should be made to be more transparent about what they’re doing.”
Additional reporting: Ganesh Rao
Business
Council finances are becoming unsustainable and whole system overhaul is required, watchdog warns
From bin collections and parks to social care, it’s estimated local authorities in England provide more than 800 services for residents, touching on many different aspects of our lives all the way from childhood to elderly care.
A National Audit Office report found spending on services increased by £12.8bn – from £60bn to £72.8bn – between 2015-16 and 2023-24, a 21% increase in real terms.
Most of this increased spending – £10.3bn – has gone to adult and children’s social care, which represents councils’ biggest spend, increasing as a share of overall spending from 53% to 58% over the period.
Previous central funding cuts and an increasing population mean that spending power per person has largely stagnated, however, and remains 1% lower per person than in 2015/16, the report said.
This is a measure of the funding available to local authorities from central government grants, council tax and business rates. Though grant funding has increased in recent years, it has not yet made up for pre-2020 government cuts.
Complex needs
The population in England has increased by 5% over the period, accounting for some of this increased pressure, but it’s not the only driver.
In many areas, demand has outpaced population growth, as external events and the complexity of people’s needs has shifted over time.
The rapid increase in costs of temporary accommodation, for example, has been driven by the large increases in people facing homelessness because of inflationary pressures and housing shortages.
At the same time, demand for new adult social care plans has increased by 15%.
As life expectancies have increased, the length of time in people’s lives during which they suffer from health problems has also increased.
“We see that in adult social care that people have multiple conditions and need more and more support and often will be appearing as if they’re frailer at an earlier age. So that’s an important trend,” explained Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
“We’re constantly focusing on most urgent things at the expense of not doing the preventative work,” she added.
“When we’re just focusing on getting people home from hospital, we’re not doing that piece of work to enable them not to go there in the first place.”
Budget cliff edge over SEND spending
Meanwhile, demand for education, health and care (EHC) plans, for children with more complex special educational support needs has more than doubled, increasing by 140% to 576,000.
Budgets for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have not kept pace, meaning local authority spending has consistently outstripped government funding, leading to substantial deficits in council budgets.
Most authorities with responsibilities for SEND have overspent their budget as they have been allowed to until March 2026 on a temporary override, but they will need to draw on their own reserves to make these payments in a year.
One in three councils will have deficits that they can’t cover when the override ends.
Cuts to services
In the latest figures for 2023/24, the NAO found £3 in every £5 of services spending by English local authorities went towards social care and education, totalling £42.3bn.
This has left little headroom for other services, many of which have experienced real-terms financial cuts over the same time period, with councils forced to identify other services like libraries, parks and the arts to make savings.
But, Williams warned, cultural and environmental services like these can play a vital role in wellbeing and may actually exacerbate demand for social care.
“For us to be able to safeguard both adults and children – so people that need extra support – we do need that wider bit for councils to do,” said Williams, who also serves as corporate director of adult social care for Nottingham County Council.
“It’s no good me just providing care and support if somebody can’t go out and access a park, or go out and access leisure, or go out and have that wider support in the community.”
Commenting on the report, Cllr Tim Oliver, chairman of the County Councils Network, said: “As we have warned, councils have little choice but to spend more and more on the most demand-intensive services, at the expense of everything else – leaving them providing little more than care services.
“It is market-specific cost pressures, mainly in adult social care, children’s services, and special educational needs, that are driving councils’ costs rather than deprivation. Therefore government must recognise and address these pressures in its fair funding review, otherwise it will push many well-run councils to the brink.”
Fighting fires
The NAO report describes a vicious cycle where councils’ limited budgets have resulted in a focus on reactive care addressing the most urgent needs.
More efficient preventative care that could lower demand in the long term has fallen to the wayside.
In one example cited by the NAO, the Public Health Grant, which funds preventative health services, is expected to fall in real terms by £846m (20.1%) between 2015/16 and 2024/25.
Other areas have seen a switch in funding from prevention to late intervention.
Councils’ funding towards homelessness support services increased by £1.57bn between 2015/16 and 2013/24, while money for preventative and other housing services fell by £0.64bn.
Financing overhaul needed
Since 2018, seven councils have issued section 114 notices, which indicate that a council’s planned spending will breach the Local Government Finance Act when the local authority believes it’s become unable to balance its budget.
And 42 local authorities have received over £5bn of support through the Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) framework since its introduction in 2020.
According to a recent Local Government Association survey referenced in the NAO report, up to 44% of councils believe they’ll have to issue a section 114 notice within the next two years should the UK government cease providing exceptional financial support.
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Looking ahead to upcoming funding settlements, and the government’s planned reforms of local government, the NAO warns that short-term measures to address acute funding shortfalls have not addressed the systemic weaknesses in the funding model, with a whole system overhaul required.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “Short-term support is a sticking plaster to the underlying pressures facing local authorities. Delays in local audits are further undermining public confidence in local government finances.
“There needs to be a cross-government approach to local government finance reform, which must deliver effective accountability and value for money for taxpayers.”
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Business
Victims of second Post Office scandal criticise ‘grinding wheels of bureaucracy’ as they try to get compensation
Victims of ‘Capture’, a second faulty Post Office accounting system, say their redress scheme may not be in place until the autumn.
Former sub-postmasters and their relatives met with government representatives for an update on compensation.
While lawyers describe “positive steps”, some victims have told Sky News that they are disappointed with the timescale and described coming up against the “grinding wheels of bureaucracy”.
Capture software was an accounting system rolled out in Post Office branches between 1992 and 1999 and was likely to have caused false shortfalls.
It was the predecessor to Horizon, which led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted of stealing between 1999 and 2015.
Former sub-postmaster Lee Bowerman, who was never accused of stealing but had to sell his Post Office business after using Capture, said the meeting was a “damp squib” and criticised “the grinding wheels of bureaucracy”.
He agreed that the proposed redress scheme would be “quicker than Horizon” but added “you can’t use them as a yardstick because at the end of the day …people still haven’t been paid out”.
Mr Bowerman added: “So don’t compare us to them when those schemes aren’t even fit for purpose.”
Around 100 Capture victims so far could be eligible for redress.
The scheme, however, would not apply to anyone currently convicted.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) have confirmed that they are now reviewing 27 Capture convictions.
Victims were told the government is considering a separate “fast track” redress scheme for anyone who has their conviction overturned in the future.
Lee Bowerman had to sell his Post Office business after using Capture
Steve Marston’s case is among those being considered after he was convicted of stealing from his branch in 1996 following shortfalls of nearly £80,000.
“I don’t think it would be human nature not to be disappointed that [the redress scheme] is not being sorted out in the next couple of days even,” he said.
“But we are talking about the government, aren’t we? They’ve got to fill in a form in triplicate, get it rubber stamped three times and that’s for a box of paper clips,” he added.
“I mean it is what it is, we have got to roll with it, stick in there and keep pushing as much as we can”.
Clare Brennan, daughter of Peter Lloyd-Halt, who was a sub-postmaster accused of stealing whilst using Capture, said she and her mother Agnes found the meeting “positive”.
She went on to describe a “weight being lifted” after they were told that it had been officially recognised that Mr Lloyd-Halt had worked for the Post Office.
The family say all Mr Lloyd-Halt’s documents and evidence have been lost and it’s been a challenge to their case.
Lawyers for victims also described “positive steps” towards a new compensation scheme, following the government meeting.
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What is the Horizon Post Office scandal?
Agnes Lloyd-Holt and Clare Brennan
Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said that they were “reassured by the Department for Business and Trade today that good progress is being made with learnings taken from previous Post Office compensation schemes to form this one”.
He added that “there is a clear willingness to do right by those who have suffered at the hands of the Post Office in relation to Capture”.
“We always appreciate that redress can never come quick enough for these victims and we push as much as we can to take things forward.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Business and Trade said: “Officials met with postmasters today as part of the government’s commitment to develop an effective and fair redress process that takes into account the circumstances of those affected by Capture.
“Ensuring postmasters are treated with dignity and respect is our absolute priority and we will continue to update on the development of the redress mechanism as it progresses.”
The next meeting with Capture victims is due in April.
The government has signalled that plans to bring a second runway at Gatwick into regular use will get the green light if environmental conditions are met.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “minded to approve” the airport’s plans but the deadline for a decision had now been pushed back until the end of October.
The main stumbling blocks facing Gatwick’s proposals are related to its provisions for noise prevention and public transport.
The Planning Inspectorate had made recommendations in those two areas after initially rejecting the scheme.
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The airport welcomed the government’s statement but did not say whether it saw a need to adjust its plans to meet the conditions.
Gatwick has until April 24 to respond to the new proposals.
The northern runway already exists at the airport parallel to the main one, but cannot be used at the same time as it is too close.
It is currently limited to being a taxiway and only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.
Gatwick wants to move it 12 metres further away to solve this problem.
The northern runway is currently only used for emergencies or where the main one is closed. Pic: PA
It says being able to run both at the same time would allow around 100,000 more flights per year and create 14,000 jobs.
Gatwick says the £2.2bn project would not need government money, would be 100% privately funded, and could be complete by the end of the decade.
The airport is already the second busiest in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.
Campaigners argue the additional traffic would be catastrophic for the environment and the local community in particular.
Today’s update comes after the chancellor said last month the government also supported a third runway at Heathrow as part of its wider effort to bolster UK economic growth.
However, the formal planning process is still to take place.
Gatwick’s additional runway would be unlikely to open until the end of the decade, assuming any legal challenges were swiftly overcome.
A government source told Sky News: “The transport secretary has set out a path to approving the expansion of Gatwick today following the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation to refuse the original application.
“This is an important step forward and demonstrates that this government will stop at nothing to deliver economic growth and new infrastructure as part of our Plan for Change.
“Expansion will bring huge benefits for business and represents a victory for holidaymakers. We want to deliver this opportunity in line with our legal, environmental and climate obligations.
“We look forward to Gatwick’s response as they have indicated planes could take off from a new runway before the end of this Parliament.”
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, said: “We welcome today’s announcement that the Secretary of State for Transport is minded to approve our Northern Runway plans and has outlined a clear pathway to full approval later in the year.
“It is vital that any planning conditions attached to the final approval enable us to make a decision to invest £2.2bn in this project and realise the full benefits of bringing the Northern Runway into routine use.
“We will of course engage fully in the extended process for a final decision.”
He added: “We stand ready to deliver this project which will create 14,000 jobs and generate £1bn a year in economic benefits. By increasing resilience and capacity we can support the UK’s position as a leader in global connectivity and deliver substantial trade and economic growth in the South East and more broadly.
“We have also outlined to government how we plan to grow responsibly to meet increasing passenger demand, while minimising noise and environmental impacts.”
A spokesperson for campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) responded: “We welcome the extension by the secretary of state until October as she has obviously recognised the many holes in the Gatwick airport submissions during the planning hearings.
“Cagne do not believe Gatwick has been totally up front with their submissions, and the planning hearings left so many questions unanswered.”
Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said of the process ahead: “By approving Gatwick’s expansion the government will hang a millstone the size of a 747 around the country’s neck.
“Such a decision would be one that smacks of desperation, completely ignoring the solid evidence that increasing air travel won’t drive economic growth. The only thing it’s set to boost is air pollution, noise, and climate emissions.”
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