The MP has earned £4.8m since he left office last September, more than 50 times his salary as a backbench MP, reports Josiah Mortimer
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to defend his outside earnings in a parliamentary debate on banning MPs’ second jobs this Thursday.
Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, is using the debate to push forward his Parliamentary Bill which would ban second jobs for MPs.
When Boris Johnson was PM, Tory MPs repeatedly blocked Richard Burgon’s Bill banning second jobs, the left-wing MP said.
Boris Johnson is now reportedly the highest-earning MP having made nearly £5 million since leaving Downing Street last September – more than 50 times his annual salary as a backbench MP.
The ousted premier is now regularly receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds per speech, including £200,893 from Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Management Corporation in Mumbai last December, £3,000 from The Spectator for an article saying he was on a career “hiatus” despite still being the MP for Uxbridge, and £246,407 from Bloomberg Singapore, for seven hours of preparation and a speech last month.
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In a letter to Boris Johnson, Richard Burgon MP said: “Whilst Prime Minister, your Party repeatedly blocked my Bill to ban second jobs and failed to take the action needed to stop MPs chasing corporate cash.
“No wonder. You have reportedly raked in an eye-watering £5m in outside earnings since leaving Downing Street. It would take a nurse around 150 years to earn that amount…
“The scandal of MPs’ second jobs is undermining confidence in our democracy. Banning such second jobs, as the majority of the public support, would help restore trust in our politics.”
He added: “I would welcome your participation in this debate so you can put on the record why you think MPs should be allowed to continue making millions in outside earnings.”
In January, it was revealed that MPs have earned over £17m on top of their salaries since the last election – with Tory MPs accounting for almost 90% of that.
Richard Burgon has also written to all the other MPs in the top ten earners from second jobs inviting them to defend their position in his Parliamentary debate.
The socialist MP’s bill banning second jobs would mean no MP could undertake paid work other than in Parliamentary or Governmental roles, unless the work is necessary to “maintain existing professional qualifications”, the work “frontline work in the NHS, social care or the emergency services”, or