Geoffrey Cox

lemongrove

It all turns on whether Cox has broken any rules. If he has, then he must expect consequences.
As to how much he has earned, it’s irrelevant.Unless rules on second jobs are changed then it’s entirely legal and above board for any MP to have one.There aren’t ‘set hours’ for constituency and Parliamentary work.Whether there should be is another matter.

Nobody is claiming that he has broken any rules, lemon. That was Paterson. He's a completely different kettle of fish.

This whole thread is about Cox.
Therefore I comment on him.

lemongrove

This whole thread is about Cox.
Therefore I comment on him.

Well, it would be nice if you could comment in line with the topic of this thread, which is 'should MPs be able to do what Cox has done? Like, how appropriate is it and how compatible is it with being an MP?

MaizieD

From The Metro:

Most of the highest paid '2nd job' MPs are tories

Nearly all the MPs who work in 'consultancy' or 'advisory' roles (i.e. those most likely to lead to improper lobbying) are tories. One Lib Dem, Ed Davey, has a modestly paid consultancy role.

It does make one wonder at some MPs' motives for entering politics. Is it to serve constituents or is it to serve the industry they're aligned with?

metro.co.uk/2021/11/08/the-30-mps-who-rake-in-thousands-with-second-jobs-as-consultants-15561454/

For 'balance' , the Daily Mail is trying to slam David Lammy for earning £141,000 for something like 6 or 7 speaking jobs over the course of 3 years... (He's a barrister, too) Of course, that's directly comparable with a tory MP earning £1million in one year and spending 2 or 3 months in the Caribbean while earning it...

It's a crazy world...

Lammy is not a QC, so won’t earn a high amount, still 23 grand a speech is not to be sniffed at, but he is still earning outside his role as an MP. I don’t agree with Cox defending one country that is being sued by his own though, very odd.

G Cox has earned more than £6million from outside work since becoming an MP in 2005. He has missed 12 votes in parliament during his recent stint in the Virgin Islands.

I doubt if his constituents were aware of the extent of his outside work until recently and it will be interesting to see what they do about him.

The following is a quote from the British VI inquiry back in June

The BVI inquiry videos show that Cox made arguments against “open registers” for politicians’ interests at the public inquiry in June.

He told the inquiry: “Let me be quite candid. There are real drawbacks to open registers. It becomes a political tool for every … many, many, frivolous complaints are made. It is a profound invasion into a legislator’s private life, because what happens is, as you can imagine, stories get written, minor infractions are written up to be morally shameful or even impute dishonesty.”

Cox is also facing a conflict of interest claim after it emerged that he had lobbied against imposing tougher financial regulations on the Cayman Islands just months after he gained more than £40,000 from legal firms based in the tax haven.

And no, I'm not envious.

With regard to David Lammy, I doubt that he spends several hours per week preparing his speeches. If they're on the same or similar topics he'll be able to recycle them. If people want to pay that kind of money to listen to a politician, then good luck to him.

MaizieD

lemongrove

This whole thread is about Cox.
Therefore I comment on him.

Well, it would be nice if you could comment in line with the topic of this thread, which is 'should MPs be able to do what Cox has done? Like, how appropriate is it and how compatible is it with being an MP?

Sigh!
I already have done.

David Lammy doesn't get anything like £23k a speech.

Is that thread still going about believing everything you're told?

Alegrias1

David Lammy doesn't get anything like £23k a speech.

Is that thread still going about believing everything you're told?

Yes I believe that thread is still live. You can find it beneath the thread about pensioners being forced to downsize.

Er, don’t you think he was advancing an argument on behalf of his client rather than giving his own opinion Dinahmo? Though how prescient his words about the effect of a minor infraction (participating in a video conference in his parliamentary office between parliamentary duties rather than taking time out and going to chambers) turned out to be.
How convenient for some that he had to be in the BVI to do the work he was paid for. Gives an excuse to imply he was having a nice holiday.
And how many MPs take part in every vote please?
I’m amazed that as a QC with his specialisation he has only earned some £6m in 16 years. That’s actually very low. Might it be because as an MP and then Attorney General and heavily involved in the Brexit negotiations the amount of work he was able to take on was very restricted? That priority was given to his public duties?

FGS Gill nobody is being forced to downsize. A clever little segue eh?

Germanshepherdsmum

Dinahmo QCs command very high fees. Starmer is a QC.

Yes, but he has suspended his Licence in order to serve his Constituents and the Party 100%. A massive difference.

How anyone can condone Cox's behaviour is unfathomable!

I believe the Labour Party don’t allow second jobs? Wasn’t that mentioned upthread? What behaviour on the part of Cox are you talking about? Earning a lot of money? How very distasteful. But as I explained in my last post nothing like what he could have earned if he hadn’t been giving priority to his constituents and his parliamentary work. Do you know how much a QC with his specialisation can expect to earn in a year?

No issue with him earning lots of money. I have BIG earners in my family, as long as they pay correct tax.

This man has chosen to put himself up to election, to become an MP, to serve his Constituents. And he has NOT been doing that, he has NOT been in his Constituency for them, and he has broken rules on use of office, etc, and he has been working to protect massive tax evasion, working against his own Government, and his own Consituents and the services tax provide for them and the country.

THAT is what I am objecting to. If you can't see te difference, then what can I say!!!

lemongrove

It all turns on whether Cox has broken any rules. If he has, then he must expect consequences.
As to how much he has earned, it’s irrelevant.Unless rules on second jobs are changed then it’s entirely legal and above board for any MP to have one.There aren’t ‘set hours’ for constituency and Parliamentary work.Whether there should be is another matter.

He's broken the rules about doing private work from his parliament office.

Germanshepherdsmum

FGS Gill nobody is being forced to downsize. A clever little segue eh?

Just following the masters of diversion. It was also intended as a humorous comment, but never mind eh?

Wise words concerning the Master of Diversion.

sounds like playschool at its worst!

This should be made against the rules

“Multi millionaire Geoffrey Cox buys a £535k Battersea flat in 2004. We pay his £1,750 a month mortgage repayments. He now rents the property out for about £1,000 a week.
He now lives in another London property whose £1,900 a month rent we are also paying”

I still think that MPs should be able to keep a toe in the water of their profession. A political career is uncertain and many MPs need to find another way of earning their living within 5 or 10 years of entering parliament and whether they are a QC, doctor, teacher, or plumber, if they haven't kept up todate in their profession during that time, once out of parliament they are unemployable.

What should be limited is the number of hours a session, or week they can devote to outside interests. Most people work a 40 hour week and why should MPs be expected to work longer hours? This means they could reasonably devote 10 hours a week to other pursuits, whether, legal work, plumbing, playing golf or making matchstick models, without it interfering with their Parliamentary work and service to their constituency.

Whitewavemark2

This should be made against the rules

“Multi millionaire Geoffrey Cox buys a £535k Battersea flat in 2004. We pay his £1,750 a month mortgage repayments. He now rents the property out for about £1,000 a week.
He now lives in another London property whose £1,900 a month rent we are also paying”

How can that be allowed? I can't believe he can do that and can't believe someone with his money would want to be seen as such a scrounger.

Dinamho wrote " He has missed 12 votes in parliament during his recent stint in the Virgin Islands. This has made me wonder - is working for another employer a valid reason for pairing or not voting? Surely it's not just about how many hours an MP spends in their constituency but whether they are representing them when it comes to voting.

My MP didn't vote on the sewage dumping and Owen Patterson issues because he was at COP 26. This was frustrating but totally understandable, but if he'd not voted because he was off earning money for another employer I might have been very fed up.

Would this be considered a conflict of interest?

“Rugby Tory MP Mark Pawsey, paid £30,000 a year by a packaging lobby group, tried to water down environmental legislation on… wait for it….plastic producers.

Enjoy your time at the trough Mr Pawsey”

And I’m sure this is pure coincidence.

Boris Johnson's brother was made a director of Dyson just two months before the PM ordered 10,000 Dyson ventilators on 26th March 2020 with no tender

Well, Boris and bro are barely on speaking terms and his brother resigned from the government quite early on, Trying to buy his love and loyalty?