After Paterson scandal, should MPS be banned from having a second job?
Following the resignation of the North Shropshire MP, the matter has sparked a wider discussion about what MPS should and should not be allowed to do in their spare time while in office. Phil Corrigan reports
THE furore over former Conservative MP Owen Paterson has brought the spotlight onto the controversial issue of politicians’ second jobs – with one local MP registering consultancy fees totalling nearly £400,000.
Mr Paterson was found to have made an ‘egregious breach’ of lobbying rules by lobbying on behalf of two companies which were paying him £100,000 a year.
While the North Shropshire MP fell foul of the rules by acting as a paid advocate for the companies, there are no restrictions on how much an MP can earn in the private sector, and Mr Paterson was hardly alone in having additional jobs.
Some people believe there should be tighter rules around MPS’ outside earnings – even an outright ban on second jobs – in order to prevent similar scandals.
They argue that the £81,000 basic salary MPS receive, plus the expenses and other perks they are entitled to, should be enough.
MPS are currently required to register any financial interest they have or benefit they receive, including employment and earnings, which might be seen to influence their work as a Member of Parliament, within 28 days.
The register is updated every two weeks, and
anyone can view it online. Interests remain on the register for 12 months after they have expired.
Four of our local MPS have registered interests under ‘employment and earnings’ on the register for the current 2021/22 parliamentary session.
Fiona Bruce, left, Conservative MP for Congleton, is the local MP with by far the highest earnings from a second job. She has continued to work for her own Warrington-based law firm Fiona Bruce and Co LLP since being first elected in 2010, and the register currently lists payments totalling £397,333.71.
But Ms Bruce told The Mirror that the four of the largest payments she listed were ‘almost entirely tax payments not receipts by me’ but ‘for technical reasons have to be declared’.