Weschle Quoted in Sky News on Income of Members of Parliament

January 3, 2022

Simon Weschle

Political Science Department

Europe

Government

Income

Simon Weschle

New analysis by Sky News found that former cabinet ministers who remain in parliament earn an average of £162,000 on top of their Member of Parliament (MP) salary from the private sector in their first year after leaving government. The fact that MPs gain rather than lose out financially from being in the Cabinet is supported by the findings of Simon Weschle, assistant professor of political science, who analyzed MPs earnings from 2010 - 2015. He found that ministers in this period saw their earnings increase more than six-fold before and after stints in the cabinet. In response to the Sky News analysis, Weschle said, "These findings support the previous research. Former ministers benefit after leaving the job." Read more in the Sky News article, "MPs' second jobs: Why it pays to leave the Cabinet."