Saturday, August 11, 2007

Tory shadow cabinet has 115 other jobs on top of being MPs and spokespeople

The Financial Times reports that the Conservative shadow cabinet have 155 directorships and other outside jobs between them, aside from their MP's and shadow roles. There's nothing wrong with a modicum of outside work, but the sheer scale of the Conservatives' outside roles is breathtaking:

David Cameron’s front-bench MPs and peers hold more than 115 paid directorships and other outside jobs, in addition to their political roles, research by the FT has revealed.

The sheer scale of outside interests is sparking concern within the party that the Tory “part-timers” lack the discipline needed to defeat Labour. But the MPs defend their second jobs, arguing exposure to business im­proves their political performance. Analysis of the most recent registers of MPs and peers’ interests reveals the opposition front bench is pursuing an eclectic, and in some cases highly lucrative, range of parallel careers to supplement their Westminster pay.

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