Farage's second jobs pile up again

It looks like Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituents may have been shortchanged yet again by their absentee MP. Reform’s leader has just revealed the extent of his work outside Parliament in the Commons’ Register of Members’ Financial Interests, disclosing an “estimated” 50 hours’ worth of private business.

Farage reported 42 hours’ work for X (formerly Twitter) and eight hours for Google, albeit with the caveat “this number is an estimate”. His work for Elon Musk’s hellsite paid him £3,003 and Google £3,561.

The latest figures show that, in less than six months since finally making it to the Commons, Farage has now reported £308,000 from second (and third, and fourth…) jobs – more than three times his annual £91,346 MP’s salary. He has previously reported fees of £177,429 for his presenting gig on GB News, £24,783 for a speaking engagement in Arizona, £38,554 for making Cameo videos, £8,000 from the Telegraph Media Group and £40,075 for a 10-hour speaking engagement for Nomad Capitalist (which “helps successful entrepreneurs legally reduce taxes”).

With property interests, company directorships and shareholdings also keeping him busy, it’s little wonder the honourable member for Clacton has little time for such fripperies as constituency surgeries!

Farage did pop up briefly in Clacton last week, donating cartons of apple juice to a local food bank (made by a farmer based closer to where he really lives, in Kent). How altruistic! Except the cartons were branded “FARAGE”, so everybody knew who their kindly benefactor was.

Brexit analogy of the week, meanwhile, goes to The Trawl podcast presenter Marina Purkiss, doing battle with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s unpronounceable sister Annunziata on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show.

Annunziata celebrating the UK’s trans-Pacific trade pact was like someone “celebrating finding a tenner after you’ve thrown your wallet in the sea,” she told the former Brexit Party MEP.