Westminster Accounts: Number 10 says MPs should ‘focus on serving constituencies’ after Sky News reveal second jobs earnings

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2023

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MPs should “focus on serving their constituency” rather than on second jobs, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson has said, in reaction to reports from Sky News.

Research by our Westminster Accounts project today revealed MPs earned an average £233 per hour for roles outside of parliament – 17 times higher than the national average and over 22 times more than the hourly minimum wage.

The data also showed MPs had spent almost 89,000 hours carrying out the work since the start of the parliament in 2019.

All of this falls within the currents rules, as long as MPs declare who they worked for, for how long, and how much they were paid.

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Asked about the findings, the prime minister’s spokesman said an MP’s “primary focus must always be on serving their constituency”, and that it would be their voters who “decide if they’ve done a good enough job” as their representative in Westminster.

But they failed to commit to any changes to the rules that allow additional work to take place.

Earlier, the SNP’s former Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said there was a “legitimate debate” to be had about MPs’ outside earnings.

Mr Blackford – who earned over £38,000 for 31 hours work over the past four years – said it was “important the public can have trust in those they send to parliament” and people were “rightly appalled” by some of the “eye watering” sums being paid to MPs.

Tory MP and chair of the health select committee, Steve Brine, accused Westminster Accounts of “smearing” politicians.

Mr Brine, who has worked 497 hours in second jobs this parliament on an average of £200 per hour, told Sky News: “I’m focused on my constituents, I focus on chairing my select committee and I always have [been].

“I think you should be very careful about smearing MPs and making out that MPs are not focusing on their jobs – 99.9% of MPs I’ve met in Westminster are focused on doing their job and doing the right thing.

“Be very careful before you run our profession into the ground.”

Politics

HashFlare co-founders plead guilty to wire fraud in US

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1 hour ago

February 12, 2025

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HashFlare co-founders plead guilty to wire fraud in US

Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin, both Estonian nationals, agreed to forfeit all claims in digital assets frozen by US authorities as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

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BTC-e operator to be released as part of US-Russia prisoner swap: WSJ

Published

4 hours ago

February 12, 2025

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BTC-e operator to be released as part of US-Russia prisoner swap: WSJ

Schoolteacher Marc Fogel returned to the US on Feb. 11 as part of a deal with Russian authorities that will reportedly include the release of Alexander Vinnik.

Politics

Treasury launches inquiry into leak of growth forecasts

Published

5 hours ago

February 12, 2025

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Treasury launches inquiry into leak of growth forecasts

A leak inquiry will take place following reports that economic growth forecasts have been reduced by the government’s financial watchdog.

Bloomberg reported that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had reduced its growth forecasts in data sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week.

Reduced growth could force the government to cut further spending or increase more taxes.

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The next forecast is set to be published in March – with the process supposed to remain confidential until that point.

The inquiry was confirmed by James Bowler, the most senior civil servant in the Treasury.

He told the House of Commons Treasury Committee: “We will undertake an inquiry, and I’m happy to communicate the outcome of that.”

The government’s attempts to grow the UK economy have proved difficult since the election last year, and businesses have complained about measures introduced in Ms Reeves’s first budget.

Part of Labour’s plan involves increasing house building and development, although these plans were not included in the forecasts for last October’s budget.

Mr Bowler sought to play down the fact that a leak inquiry was happening meant that what was reported by Bloomberg was true.

Asked by committee chair Meg Hillier about the inquiry, the civil servant appeared to indicate about 50 people in the Treasury would have been able to see the forecasts.

He said an investigation into OBR officials would likely also happen, although the body is independent of government.

Downing Street has tried to remain bullish about the economic situation.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “In recent weeks and months, the [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and the [International Monetary Fund] have upgraded our growth forecast over the next three years.”

They added: “The government remains relentlessly focused on growth as the only way of sustainably raising living standards and delivering the investment that we need in our public services.”

Both bodies mentioned slightly increased their growth forecasts, but they still remain below 2%.

Last week, the Bank of England halved its growth expectations for the UK – saying it would only increase by 0.75% in 2025, before increasing to 1.5% for the next two years.