Right-wing politicians top up bank accounts with jobs on the side

Right-wing politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are making a mint moonlighting, according to The Guardian.

Nigel Farage, the far-right Reform UK’s leader, is the highest earning MP in Britain, raking in £1.2 million a year on top of his parliamentary salary, according to records released by the UK’s parliamentary authorities.

The member of parliament for Clacton in south England makes £97,900 a month from his work at the relatively new right-wing TV channel GB News, plus sizeable sums from Cameo videos for fans, and pocket money from Telegraph articles and X and Meta platforms.

This income is on top of an MP’s salary which amounts to £91,346 plus expenses to cover the cost of running an office, living in London and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.

The GB news channel has also boosted the fortunes of a clutch of right-wing Conservatives. MP until July, Jacob Rees-Mogg is paid around £29,000 a month to host “State of the Nation,” which, during his time as an MP, gave him around £350,000 extra a year.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is keen to clamp down on MPs spending time on second jobs that diminish their commitment to their main parliamentary work.

The biggest figures earned from second jobs are being pocketed by right-wing Conservative MPs involved in consultancy work and media with Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV providing another lucrative source of income.

The Guardian reports that last year about 90 Conservative MPs brought in approximately £4.75m while a far smaller number of Labour, SNP and Lib Dem made £400,000 between them.

The highest earning Labour MP in 2023 was the current Foreign Minister David Lammy, who made more than £90,000 from presenting shows on LBC radio and delivering speeches.

In the US, senators and congressmen can hold certain second jobs to boost a base salary of $174,000. But many of the US powerful have amassed most of their wealth before entering politics.

According to Investopedia, Republican Rick Scott tops the list of America’s richest senators. As a businessman, he has built an estimated net worth of more than $327 million.

Republican Mitt Romney comes second with a net worth of $246 million, which he also amassed in business, co-founding the private investment firm, Bain Capital.

Of the 10 wealthiest senators, only one is a Democrat. Mark Warner, senator for Virginia, is the third richest with $195 million, a fortune that came mostly from his time at the venture capital firm, Columbia Capital.

Second jobs are most notable among Capitol Hill staffers who, according to Business Insider, are forced to take work with Uber, Starbucks and other such outfits to supplement poor salaries.

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