In the past year, MPs in and around Romford and Brentwood have earned hundreds of pounds in extra income – some of which was donated to charity.
The register of interests, a system used by MPs to declare earnings on top of their salary, shows MPs in the area have made extra income from work for polling groups, academia and journalism – with one MP doing much work unpaid.
Jon Cruddas
Dagenham and Rainham MP Jon Cruddas earned an extra £1,070 for completing opinion surveys for polling company YouGov – although all the fees were donated to charity.
The payments, for between £50 and £200, were eight sessions of up to two hours’ work completed between January 13, 2022 and November 25, 2022 and registered from January 24 to November 25, 2022.
He also earned £900 for opinion surveys for polling group Ipsos MORI. This consisted of £225 for four sessions of two hours’ work each in January, March, August and September. These fees were also donated to charity.
The Labour MP also received £2,765.03 for 30 hours’ work across the year – just over £92 an hour - as Adjunct Associate Professor in British Government and Politics at Richmond University (the American International University in London).
He was also paid £1831.44 in book royalties from Polity Press on March 29. The work is estimated as 200 hours between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 and was registered on April 14.
Dame Margaret Hodge
Barking MP Dame Margaret Hodge was paid £400 by the New Statesman magazine on June 14 for six hours’ work on an article.
The long-serving Labour MP also registered other interests as an unremunerated member of the Advisory Board of GovernUp, a project to improve the effectiveness of government.
She also declared unremunerated roles as a visiting professor at King’s College London, a member of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy's Board of Governors, a member of the Editorial Board of Political Quarterly and a member of the Board of the Social Market Foundation.
She has also registered unpaid involvement as unpaid work as chair of the board of directors of the Theatre Royal Stratford East and co-chair of the Fawcett Society’s Local Government Commission.
All MPs were contacted for comment.
To get the latest news and features direct to your inbox, sign up for our Barking and Dagenham Post newsletter here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here