News that outspoken Nottinghamshire MP Lee Anderson will get paid £100,000 a year by GB News to present a TV show has sparked a huge reaction. The member of parliament for Ashfield is also Conservative Party chairman and some commentators pointed out that he has previously criticised other MPs for taking on second jobs.
The annual fee, declared in an update to the MPs’ register of interests published on Wednesday, is a significant increase on the £200 weekly payment he received for appearing as a regular on Dan Wootton’s show. He has been outspoken on may issues including asylum seekers, calling for the return of the death penalty and saying people on Universal Credit are not in poverty.
He also famously claimed that meals could be cooked from scratch “for about 30 pence a day” in a comment criticising food banks. This later went on to earn him the nickname ‘30p Lee’.
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Anderson who earns £84,144 as an MP, has previously hit out at MPs who have second jobs saying: “I don’t have a second job, I love the job I have already.” Mr Anderson also publicly denounced ex-Cabinet minister Owen Paterson as he faced a row over his second job.
“We are paid handsomely for the job we do and if you need an extra £100,000 a year on top then you should really be looking for another job," he said. On Twitter, referring to his 30p nickname, Matt Chorley said: “Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson has revealed he will be paid £100,000 a year for hosting a show on GB News. Which is roughly 333,333 dinners.”
Aim_is_the_game said: “Didn’t he once claim that being an MP was a full time job and if one was doing it properly there would be no time for another job? Or was that a different Lee Anderson?”
BladeoftheSun added: “Lee Anderson complained about MP’s working second jobs ‘claiming they were taking the mick and bilking constituents’. He now gets £100,000 a year from his second job at GB News.”
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World Watchers said: “Should MPs not be in doing what they are paid for rather than self publicising. GBNEWS is awash with Tory MPs.” Emily Sheffield explained: “£100,000 per annum - that is quite the salary for eight hours a week for Lee Anderson MP presenting for GB News.
"He will have to deliver for that. And this is the Tory deputy party chairman. And he’s only been an MP since 2019. Hope that goes down well with his constituents.”
Trevorw1953 said: “Time we stopped MPs like Anderson having these ‘second jobs’. Either devote 100% of your time to serving your constituents or choose a job outside politics. It’s particularly galling in the case of Anderson who says poverty is a lifestyle choice!”
The Ashfield MP criticised Labour ’s Jess Phillips after she made a one-off appearance on Have I Got News For You. “I am sure Jess will donate this huge sum of money to a good cause in her constituency during these difficult times,” he wrote.
The controversial MP for Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, became the fifth Tory MP to host a GB News show when his deal with the channel was announced on March 7. He joins fellow Conservatives Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies, who all currently host shows. Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison previously hosted a show but left when she was made a levelling up minister.
But, Mr Anderson’s £100,000 fee makes him the highest earning of that group so far, receiving almost double the £58,650 - which Ms McVey received in 2022. Her husband and co-host, Mr Davies, received £46,203 in the same year.
Mr Rees-Mogg is yet to disclose how much he is being paid by the channel. Announcing his decision to join GB News, Mr Anderson previously said: “GB News is the true voice of the great British silent majority. I’m joining the people’s channel to ensure their voice is heard.”
Read next:
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