The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
9 MSPs earning cash from second jobs
The money earned by politicians outside of their parliamentary roles has come under the spotlight amid a series of “sleaze” allegations at Westminster.
However, questions over second jobs is an issue not just reserved to the London parliament.
MSPs are allowed to hold second jobs and it has been argued this helps politicians stay in touch with the issues facing the general public.
But questions have been raised about the ability of some MPs and MSPs with busy work portfolios outside of Parliament to appropriately serve their constituents.
Here we take a look at the nine MSPs – eight Conservatives and one SNP – with paid second jobs alongside their Holyrood role and salary.
We have decided not to include MSPs who are also local councillors.
1 – Alexander Burnett, Conservative
Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett has raked in the highest outside earnings of any member at Holyrood.
Mr Burnett’s additional earnings include up to £25,000 as a director of Bancon Developments Holdings Limited, and between £170,000 and £180,000 as owner and sole trader of AJA Burnett Estates – a property leasing and forestry venture.
He also receives £2,000 per annum in private medical insurance as part of his role as director and chairman of North Banchory Company Limited.
2 – Douglas Ross, Conservative
Highlands and Islands MSP Douglas Ross has a second job as MP for Moray and a third as a professional football referee.
MPs have an annual salary of £81,932 but the Tory leaders’ additional Holyrood wage packet is reduced to £21,490 because of his dual role. He donates his MSP salary to charity.
Mr Ross declared £5,106.70 earnings as a professional football referee. Payments range from £112 for being a standby official to £445 for being a match-day official for top-flight games.
However, he apologised and referred himself to the standards commissioner last week for failing to fully record his MSP salary and earnings as a referee in his register of interests at Westminster.
This included £6,728.57 undeclared for work as a match official for the Scottish Football Association and the first six months of his earnings as an MSP, at £10,745.
3 – Donald Cameron, Conservative
Fellow Highlands Conservative MSP Donald Cameron is a non-executive director of investment company Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, which pockets him between £25,000 and £30,000 per annum.
He also received between £25,000 and £30,000 per year for his role as non-executive director of Murray Income Trust until he “retired” from the role on November 2.
4 – Edward Mountain, Conservative
Edward Mountain, another Highlands and Islands MSP, owns half of a rod and line salmon fishing operation in Moray.
According to the register of interests, the business “yields a gross annual income in the range of £230,001 to £240,000”.
5 – Jamie Halcro Johnston, Conservative
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston is a partner in a farming venture on Orkney for which he receives “a benefit in kind of accommodation in a property owned by the partnership”. He also receives contributions towards some utility bills – making up between £3,000 and £5,000.
6 – Liam Kerr, Conservative
North East MSP Liam Kerr expects to receive dividends from a legal services company of between £500 and £2,000 per annum.
7 – Finlay Carson, Conservative
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson has received annual dividends of £2,000 for the last two years as director of an IT consultancy firm.
He is also a partner in J and F Carson, a farming and property letting partnership, for which he received £13,000 in 2020.
8 – Sandesh Gulhane, Conservative
Dr Sandesh Gulhane is a self-employed GP and works in a GP surgery in Glasgow, earning between £30,000 and £35,000 per annum. The Glasgow MSP has served as the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman since being elected in May. He has been an NHS doctor since 2006.
9 – Michelle Thomson, SNP
SNP MSP Michelle Thomson is listed on her register of interests as a sole trader of Thomson Holdings, a property investment company.
The Falkirk East MSP, who was elected to Holyrood in May, received between £10,000 and £15,000 for the role per year, and says she will spend one hour per month working in the job.
Ms Thomson is also a director of the property management company Senza Rit Ltd.
Her register of interests states she would “expect to receive remuneration of between £1,001 and £2,000 per annum in the form of life cover”, adding, “I do not play an active role in running the business”.