Rishi Sunak welcomes ‘transparency’ as extent of MPs earnings and donations outside Westminster exposed

Rishi Sunak has stressed the importance of “transparency” after the extent of MPs earnings and donations outside Westminster was exposed.

The Prime Minister insisted it was “important” the rules were followed properly after new data revealed just how much money politicians were making on top of their own salaries.

Sky News and the Tortoise news website launched a new database of MPs’ outside earnings and donations last week, compiling records from the MPs’ Register of Interests, the Electoral Commission and other official registers. The database aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the flow of money into British politics.

Speaking to reporters in West Yorkshire, the Prime Minister said: “I think transparency is really important. And that’s why we have a set of rules and regulations in place to provide that transparency for people, and it’s important that those rules are adhered to.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a meeting with a multi-disciplinary team who provide virtual care during a visit to the Rutland Lodge Healthcare Centre in Leeds.

“I think transparency is really important for the healthy functioning of democracy. It’s absolutely right that there’s disclosures around donations and outside interests. Transparency is a good thing and I fully support it.”

The Westminster accounts cover the period since the 2019 general election and show former prime minister Theresa May is the highest-earning MP, receiving £2.8 million in payments and gifts.

Most of this income relates to Mrs May’s speaking engagements, which her entry in the MPs’ Register of Interests states are paid to the Office of Theresa May Ltd and used to pay for staff and charitable work. The register also states Mrs May receives £85,000 a year from her private office.

Second on the list of highest-earning MPs is former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox, who has received £2.1m in outside earnings and gifts since 2019.

Sir Geoffrey was criticised in 2021 for using a proxy to vote in the House of Commons while he was working on a public inquiry in the British Virgin Islands.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson is third on the list, having received £1.2m since December 2019, including more than £1m in speaker’s fees since he left Downing Street in September.

Meanwhile, Labour's shadow foreign secretary David Lammy topped his party's list with additional earnings of £202,599.

Outside earnings for the Liberal Democrats totalled £171,000 – but £159,758 of that was earned by party leader Sir Ed Davey.

Speaking on Sunday, Hannah White, director of the Institute for Government, claimed the party affiliation of those receiving the most outside income showed why reform was slow.

She said: "When you look at the data, it is very clear that there is a party pattern to which MPs are getting outside earnings. I think that points to one reason why there hasn't been a big incentive to sort this out in this Parliament.

"[It explains] why it has been the case that although Parliament decided that it wanted to put some restrictions on outside earnings, really the changes that have been made are pretty minimal, and there's no real incentive on the ruling Conservative Party to push their MPs to change something like that".