August 24, 2012 (TSR) – A new report has found that members of parliament (MPs) in Britain are earning tens of thousands of pounds from second jobs on top of their parliamentary salaries.
The report by The Times newspaper found that 68 MPs are now earning more than £10,000 a year from outside earnings, with 18 earning more than £100,000 a year from second jobs as lawyers, doctors and consultants.
The three highest-earning London MPs make nearly £500,000 a year in total from outside interests on top of their £65,738 pay, the report said.
Tory Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former Cabinet minister, earns more than any other London MP, taking home £246,359.27 per year on top of his Westminster salary.
He is a director of asset management and farming companies, does consultancy work and makes media appearances, reportedly working on non-Westminster duties for an average of 15 hours a month.
Nick Raynsford, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, earns £111,607 a year, partly from chairmanships and directorships of construction and housing companies, according to the figures assembled by The Times.
Mark Field, Tory MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, earns £96,240 as an adviser to the London School of Commerce, a recruitment firm, a law firm and the Azerbaijan Society.
“The last thing you want is a political class full of full-time politicians who have no other experience. That would be disastrous for politics”, Field said.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown was top-earning MP, with £900,000 a year from work as an academic, author and speechmaker. Labour’s David Miliband earns £410,176.60 from speeches and consultancy work.
Source: Press TV
