THE MP for Rugby, Mark Pawsey, is in the top 13 per cent of the highest-earning MPs from outside interests, having taken around £84,000 in payments and gifts since December 2019.
The value of Mr Pawsey’s interests since the start of the current parliament ranks him the 86th highest-earning MP out of the 650 in Westminster – with the average member receiving just £14,780 above their annual base salary of £84,144.
The figures come from The Westminster Accounts, an online database complied by Sky News and Tortoise Media, which tracks the flow of money through Westminster.
Since the beginning of the current parliament at the end of 2019, Mr Pawsey has declared 38 financial interests.
These include a total of around £79,000 from his second job as Chairman of the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA), which he began in April 2020, and a gift of £2,300 from the Conservative Friends of Israel in 2020.
He has also received £900 from R&A Championships for two tickets for golf’s Open; £600 from Houlton master developer Urban&Civic for two tickets and hospitality for Garsington Opera; £500 from Reckitt Benckiser Group for two tickets for the Commonwealth Games rugby sevens; and £400 from the Parliament of Georgia to cover travel expenses for a visit to the country as part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Georgia – all in 2022.
A spokesman for the Conservative MP said he only accepts a ‘tiny proportion’ of invitations and offers of hospitality.
He said: “He accepted the invitation to the golf as his wife is a keen golfer, the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf who organised the invitation is a neighbouring MP, and he was very interested to experience The Open.”
The spokesman added Mr Pawsey accepted the invitation to watch the Commonwealth rugby sevens as he was an enthusiast of the sport and “it was a good way for him to show support as the MP for the town that gave its name to the sport”.
He said Mr Pawsey regularly meets with Urban&Civic given the Houlton development, adding: “The Chief Executive of Urban&Civic is a great lover of opera and a former Chair of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and invited Mark to attend a performance, which he accepted. It was a social event, not a ‘business’ one.
“Like most MPs, Mark is invited by numerous organisations on foreign trips to learn more about other countries and the challenges they are facing. He recently visited Georgia to learn more about their history and culture, and how they have stood up to Russian aggression.”
Regarding his role with the FPA, Mr Pawsey said: “Prior to becoming an MP, I spent 30 years working in the foodservice packaging sector.
“In 2020 I was asked by the members of the FPA to take on the role of chairman. I immediately declared this interest on the register of Members’ Interests and have drawn attention to it on each occasion that I have spoken on matters relating to the sector in parliament.
“At a time when the government is looking at the future role for packaging and bringing forward new rules and regulations, I believe it is helpful for someone with a long working experience of the sector to contribute to an important debate.”
The leader of Rugby Labour Group on Rugby Borough Council said there was little public sympathy towards the notion of MPs holding additional jobs.
Coun Maggie O’Rourke said: “A diligent constituency MP shouldn’t have the time to do other work when they are already being paid, through taxes, to do a full-time job on behalf of the constituents who elected them.
“I’m also concerned at the impact of having a second job on whether MPs can act in a fully independent way, without fear or favour.
“At a time when public confidence and trust in politicians is so low, it is really important that our MPs are not seen to be feathering their own nests as a consequence of holding public office.”
In December, Mr Pawsey – who has been the town’s MP since 2010 – announced he would not be seeking re-election at the next General Election.
