During the first two months of 2024, many Members of Parliament (MPs) have embarked on significant amounts of foreign travel, with some seeking respite from the inclement British weather in warmer climates – all under the guise of diplomatic endeavors, of course. One trip of particular interest to openDemocracy readers occurred last month when shadow Secretary of State for Science, innovation, and Technology Peter Kyle traveled to the USA. Kyle’s itinerary included meetings with “political counterparts” and tech firms, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google, and Apple. (It’s worth noting that the party faced criticism last year after retracting a previously stated pledge to introduce a digital services tax on tech giants just two weeks following talks at Google’s UK headquarters.)
Expenses covered for the trip
Most of the expenses associated with the trip were covered by Labour peer and major donor David Sainsbury, totaling £10,906.62 for flights, travel, and accommodation. Interestingly, the cost of hiring a driver in San Francisco between meetings was not covered by Lord Sainsbury, but by Hakluyt & Company, a strategic consultancy that originated from MI6 in the mid-1990s.
Not much is publicly known about Hakluyt’s client roster, although they claim to work with “at least one of the world’s top five corporations in every major sector globally” and “three-quarters of the top 20 private equity firms in the world.” The firm has been associated with significant oil and gas interests in the past and boasts former executives from Rolls Royce and Coca-Cola on its advisory board, as well as former senior civil servants and politicians.
In total, MPs participated in 64 paid-for trips in January and February, traveling to destinations including Cyprus, Bangladesh, New York, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Morocco, Brazil, Zimbabwe, India, Somaliland, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and more. Additionally, multiple MPs embarked on so-called ‘fact-finding’ trips to Israel.
Together forever
Labour’s front bench continues to receive support from secondees and backing provided by the influential Starmerite campaign group Labour Together. This organization benefits from substantial funding, thanks to contributors like hedge fund boss Martin Taylor and a few other affluent supporters. Labour Together is leveraging its financial resources to provide assistance to key figures in Starmer’s shadow cabinet. This assistance takes various forms. Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves have both received research and writing services, with Cooper’s arrangement extending until July and valued at over £33,000, while Reeves utilized the service throughout January at a cost of approximately £3,600.
Cooper is among several MPs who currently have Labour Together staff working in their offices, with the group covering their salaries. In Cooper’s case, the value of the staffer’s wages for the year until December 2024 is estimated at £78,400. Other beneficiaries include Louise Haigh (February 5 to March 31, £11,978), Darren Jones (two staffers; January 15 to March 31, £11,516 and February 12 to March 31, £7,940), Angela Rayner (January 11 to July 12, £31,800), Shabana Mahmood (November 2, 2023, to November 1, 2024, £68,000), and Nick Thomas-Symonds (November 20, 2023, to March 31, 2024, £14,874).
Life after Parliament
Even though the election could still be up to ten months away, many of the MPs who have announced their intention to step down are wasting no time in lining up their next career moves. Brandon Lewis is the latest senior Conservative figure to declare that he will not stand at the next election. There were some indications that this might be the case, particularly considering the five ‘second jobs’ he has registered in the past 12 months, bringing in earnings totaling £410,000 per year. These second jobs require a commitment of around 63 hours per month, which amounts to roughly a week and a half.
About half of the retiring MPs already have second jobs or regular outside earnings. However, Dominic Raab, Graham Brady, Stephen McPartland, and Stephen Hammond have all taken on new jobs this year. Additionally, Ben Wallace, Kwasi Kwarteng, and George Eustice have earned substantial fees for speaking engagements and consultancy work.
Longtime Conservative Party chair Brady has commenced a role at the biotech firm Medannex, led by Tory donor Christopher Barry Wood. Brady’s annual earnings from this role will amount to £36,000, a fee that might seem modest at first glance. However, it’s worth noting that this fee is for just one day of work per month, and Brady also holds three other jobs.