Former Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she’s standing down as an MP at the next election, joining a long list (62) of other Tories who will throw in the towel before the end of the year. May has been the MP for Maidenhead since 1997. Another one bites the dust…
Read her full statement below:
Despite her (still unforthcoming) resignation from parliament Nadine Dorries is doing alright for herself. In the latest update to the Register of Members’ Interests update, she recorded a £20,500 book advance – perhaps related to her reported “political whodunnit” of Boris’s “assassination”. Alok Sharma is another Boris backer bringing in the big bucks, with a £20,000 after dinner speech to JP Morgan, as Theresa May has also raked in a £20,500 advance for her forthcoming book. Not too shabby…
As usual, Westminster is not lacking for MPs enjoying all expenses-paid hospitality. Liz Truss enjoyed trips to Taiwan and Switzerland, earning her a combined £112,000, as Rishi clocked in yet another £9,300 in helicopter travel. A cabal of lefty parliamentarians indulged in lavish trips: Chi Onwurah and her partner made a romantic getaway to California, worth £10,000; Yasmin Qureshi joined three other Labour MPs in gay-hating Pakistan, Jeremy Corbyn jetted off to Norway and Angus MacNeil took a £7,000 trip to Qatar. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer made the most of a hotel stay worth £937. For one night.
Bernard Jenkin’s “cowardly” silence hasn’t deterred Guido from digging deeper into the Jenkin’s parties. Yes, you read that right, parties – plural. Guido can reveal that Anne Jenkin’s lockdown-breaking birthday bash in Eleanor Laing’s office wasn’t an isolated event. Just two weeks prior, when the country was in an even stricter lockdown, she hosted a “(socially distanced) party”…
At the time, lockdown regulations made clear “you must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household… or support bubble”. There was no such thing as a “socially distanced party” permitted, and “everyone who can work effectively from home must do so”. There was no justification for an indoor social celebration – even if it was a ‘work event’.
Perhaps this is why Charlotte Carew Pole, director of Women2Win, has become unwilling to speak to Guido. Despite initially responding receptively, after the topic of conversation became apparent she seemed to suffer immediate amnesia. All she could say was that she didn’t run Women2Win’s social media and that she couldn’t remember any details. Although Charlotte insisted she would get back to Guido, she never has…
Guido did manage to get through to two other attendees of the celebration, held as a hybrid event in Policy Exchange’s Westminster offices. Theresa May was there in-person, as Boris Johnson and David Cameron addressed the event via zoom. The hybrid event could arguably be a “work event”. It was certainly a live-streamed public event.
More problematic is that the event was followed by celebratory drinks described as a “birthday party” and Theresa May stuck around briefly for a few pictures – though apparently left swiftly and Guido has seen no pictorial evidence she had a lockdown-breaking drink. Whilst one of Guido’s source insists masks were worn at all times, the private photos differ from the publicity photos…
Baroness Nicholson pictured on the left (top photo) has no drink, whereas Anne Jenkin (on the right) has a drink in hand. In publicity photos everyone is masked with no drinks in hand. One attendee insisted it wasn’t a party, although they did describe it as “joyful” and “a celebration, definitely”.
Keir Starmer has had a good start to the month, after enjoying all expenses-paid tickets to a Coldplay concert, at the cost of £700, he then enjoyed a day at the races. Of course, it’s nothing short of the best prawn cocktails for the Labour leader, who enjoyed hospitality in a private box worth £3,716. Not bad for the son of a tool-maker, from a pebbledash semi…
Sir Keir isn’t the only Party Leader enjoying the high life – Rishi spent a further £6,618 of donor money on private air travel. Meanwhile, Theresa May has again been lapping up the California sun whilst touring the speaker circuit – this time she took home £71,000 from her travels. Kwasi Kwarteng got £27,000 for a speech of his own whilst his ideological soulmate, Liz Truss, registered (unpaid) trips to Taiwan and Denmark worth £12,000.
Lefty MPs are also partial to their fair share of jet-setting. Imran Hussain, Tahir Ali and Yasin Mohammed enjoyed visits to Islamabad – where homosexuality is a criminal act – worth £5,400, courtesy of the Pakistani government. Jeremy Corbyn went on a jolly to Hungary and Rushanara Ali took a £7,100 trip to Qatar. Just don’t tell Sir Keir…
For any co-conspirators looking for a career change, you don’t need Reagan-level oratorical skills to milk it on the speaking circuit. Theresa May has coined a stonking £121,700 for a single speech given in Los Angeles – if that wasn’t enough, her West Coast jolly also included flights, meals and accommodation. Liz Truss, clearly less in demand, raked in £65,751 (plus flights and accommodation) for a speech to media conglomerate in Mumbai. She also received £6,500 for another in Tokyo. Guido can think of better ways to spend £190,000…
Boris has also been making the most of the perks afforded to former PMs. The Bamfordss have provided him yet more free accommodation to the tune of £13,000. It wouldn’t be a Register of Interests update without reference to Labour’s second job supremo, David Lammy. He received £5,100 for a speaking engagement and £8,400 from LBC. Whilst Jeremy Corbyn has cashed in another £104,000 from his fundraiser – still barely covering half of his liabilities.
In news from Parliament’s less scrupulous corners, Scott Benton, who recently fell foul of a sting where he admitted his willingness to breach lobbying rules for the gambling industry, received hospitality tickets to Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest courtesy of the Betting and Gambling Council. Meanwhile, cashing in his monthly £200 for articles in the Critic: Chris Pincher…
During a debate on the Illegal Migration Bill yesterday, Stephen Kinnock made the bold claim “The party opposite has spent the last five or six years completely destroying our relationships with our European neighbours”. Theresa May was also present, and wasn’t going to take this sitting down, she intervened:
“He said we’d spent the last five or six years destroying our relationship with France, perhaps he might like to reduce that by, I think, two?”
“That’s one of the best interventions I have ever received” replied Kinnock.
