Paranting Explainers | Should MPs have second jobs?

We think £82,000 a year should be enough of a salary for MPs

Words: Felice Southwell. Images: iStock

MPs are currently under scrutiny for having second jobs after Owen Paterson, Conservative MP, was found guilty of breaking lobbying rules by an independent officer of the House of Commons.

What has exactly happened, why is it not allowed and is it right that MPs are allowed to have second jobs at all?

What happened?

Former Conservative MP for North Shropshire, Owen Paterson, resigned as an MP after Kathryn Stone OBE, the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards, found he had breached the rules on lobbying the government.

Paterson approached ministers and officials in government agencies on behalf of companies he worked for, failing to declare his conflict of interest in the process.

Now, in parliament, the opposition is calling for a total ban on second jobs for MPs.

On Wednesday during Prime Ministers’ Questions, Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer, failed to get an apology out of Boris Johnson for trying to protect Paterson.

The Government tried…