How much additional income do West Norfolk MPs Liz Truss and James Wild make?
Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis has hit the headlines in recent weeks for taking on a number of controversial second jobs paying him almost a quarter of a million pounds.
But Mr Lewis is not the only Norfolk MP earning extra in addition to the £86,584 salary each one receives for representing their constituents.
Local democracy reporter George Thompson has gone through the MPs’ register of interests, which sets out all their earnings, donations and shareholdings, to find out how much each one is making.
Items are regularly removed from the register of interests, with gifts disappearing from the current register after around a year. The data does not include expenses, which are registered separately.
So how much do West Norfolk’s MPs make?
Liz Truss, South West Norfolk MP:
The former Prime Minister is the second highest-earning MP in Norfolk.
The majority of her income comes from giving speeches, having signed up to a speaking agency after her 44-day stint in Downing Street.
The engagements have earned her some £280,201.22 to date, with accommodation and travel costs often supplied on top.
For her speaking gigs she worked a total of 20 hours – at a rate of roughly £14,000 per hour.
Her top-paying role was £80,000 for four hours of work at the Prospect Foundation, a Taiwan-based think tank.
In October, Ms Truss did speaking engagements in two American cities 1,400 miles apart on the same day, earning her more than £32,000.
She has also received more than £8,000 for royalty payments for a book she wrote in 2012 and an advance on a new book.
Ms Truss has received a series of donations from a variety of individuals including a novelist and several businessmen. The money was largely for staffing and office costs.
Ms Truss received a £5,000 donation from Shirley Conran OBE to “support activity in my constituency”.
Mr Conran is the mother of fashion designer Jasper Conran, and the writer of the best-selling novel Lace, which became known as a ‘bonkbuster’ for its explicit sex scenes.
Her largest donor this year was Jon Moynihan, who donated £33,265.48 to cover “winding up costs” for her leadership campaign.
Ms Truss has also received a substantial number of gifts in the last year, particularly from Heathrow Airport, which gave her the use of a VIP suite 13 times at a value of £23,800.
On each occasion, Ms Truss was given the use of the Windsor Suite, which is described as the “ultimate airport experience”, with a chauffeur from your door and a menu from a Michelin star chef.
She also received the use of Sussex Suite, a conference room at Gatwick Airport, on four occasions worth £5,520 in total – £1,380 each time.
Ms Truss has also been given donations for flights and hotels to attend events as a guest, worth the equivalent of £72,716.60.
This includes £10,841 from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet ministers.
Ms Truss also owns shares in the Office of Liz Truss LTD, which “provides support” for her public activities.
Total declared additional income: £473,765.94
James Wild, North West Norfolk MP:
Mr Wild has received no additional income. However, he has received two gifts.
One came from Bestway Group, an investment company, for a ticket and hospitality at Royal Ascot, worth £610 in June.
A second, from Sky UK Ltd, was for a ticket to the Lord’s Test match against Australia, worth £400.
Mr Wild has had one visit outside the UK for a Lords and Commons cricket delegation worth more than £700.
He has two unpaid roles – one as a member of the King’s Lynn Town Deal Board, and the other as a governor of King Edward VII Academy, in Lynn.
Total declared additional income: £1,746.12
