Harrison Cairns, Northampton Socialist Party
Since the last general election in 2019, Tory MPs have taken £15.2 million from second incomes. Former prime minister Theresa May leads the way, with £2.5 million from giving talks to organisations such as JP Morgan bank and private equity firm Apax Partners.
She’s followed closely by Boris Johnson. He accumulated £1 million for just four speeches, according to the Daily Mirror at £30,000 an hour.
This isn’t unique to the Tories. Liberal Democrat MPs have taken £171,000, while Scottish National Party (SNP) representatives have taken £149,000.
Right-wing Labour MPs have accepted tens of thousands of pounds from MPM Connect, a company with no obvious line of business. Keir Starmer has earned an extra £26,000 from legal work, while serving as an MP prior to becoming leader of the Labour Party.
This is on top of their £84,144 salary. Many workers could only dream of earning this.
There is another year ahead of rising energy prices, fuel costs and rent. Typical energy bills are expected to shoot up again from £2,000 to £2,850.
Wholesale gas prices have dropped, but that hasn’t been passed to working-class people (see opposite). Instead, bills are kept higher to keep profits up and ensure investors get their cut of the cream.
Average disposable incomes are likely to fall by more than £2,000 this year. It is obvious why we’re seeing swathes of strike action from workers fighting for pay and conditions.
Out of touch
The Tories are so out of touch now. MPs are expecting a 2.9% pay rise this year of almost £2,500. MPs expose their greed time and time again. They expect bloated wages, plus more income from side jobs, while their constituents struggle with the cost of living.
Outrageously, Tory MP Lee Anderson said: “Anybody earning up to 30-odd grand a year, which most nurses are, using food banks, then they’ve got something wrong with their own finances… they can’t manage money”. Change from this capitalist Tory system is needed, to finally put in place a democratic working-class system, socialism, that truly represents the many.
