BOTH of Reading’s MPs have received minimal donations compared to other politicians according to new data released today.
Sky News and Tortoise researched the earnings of all MPs since the 2019 general election, with Maidenhead MP Theresa May collecting £2,550,876 from companies, gifts and donations. Her constituency includes parts of Woodley, Sonning, Twyford and Wargrave.
This was more than double that of her successor, Boris Johnson. The disgraced former prime minister who had to quit after a succession of scandals including the Downing Street parties during lockdown, earned £1,064,785.
The fifth highest earner was Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood £692,438, with the vast majority of that being the £674,800 earnings from his work as a global strategist with Charles Stanley.
The veteran MP has made no secret of his work for the firm. His commitment is 50 hours per month, which includes three written commentaries a week, and giving presentations.
For this he receives £48,222 a quarter, as well as bonuses. In June last year, this was £35,000.
Both Reading West MP Sir Alok Sharma and Reading East MP Matt Rodda received donations or gifts.
Sir Alok’s figure of £15,000 is one of the lowest, while Mr Rodda’s £26,500 was mostly donations from unions.
HOW MUCH MPs EARNED
Matt Rodda
Reading East MP Matt Rodda has declared seven donations worth £26,500.
The largest single item Mr Rodda has declared is a donation worth £7,000 from Union of Shop, Distributive & Allied Workers (USDAW).
Keith Thrower donated £5,000, Unite the Union gave £4,000 and £3,000. The Communications Workers Union (CWU) gave £3,000, £2,500 was given by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). The smallest single item is a donation worth £2,000 from GMB Union.
Sir Alok Sharma
Reading West MP Sir Alok Sharma has received just two payments since 2019. This should come as little surprise as he has been fully focused on the COP26 conference.
Aquind donated £10,000, while Ravi and Manju Mehrotra gave £5,000. Both were in January 2020.
Theresa May
Theresa May declared 78 financial interests from 37 different sources since the current parliament began in 2019.
They include several donations of £4,200 from Heathrow Airport, £115,000 from the Brown University, £2,500 from her husband Philip May, and £115,000 from the Dubai Women Establishment.
The largest single item declared is £408,200 in secondary earnings from Cambridge Speaker Series.
She earned £408,200 for six talks in California. Payment included flights and accommodation.
The smallest single item is a gift worth £300 from Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The top five sources are: Cambridge Speaker Series, JP Morgan Chase, Heathrow Airport, World Knowledge Forum and Distinguished Speaker Series.
The money is paid into The Office of Theresa May Ltd, from which she pays herself a salary of £85,000 a year.
Sky News says the rest supports her charitable work and activities as a former prime minister.
Sir John Redwood
Sir John Redwood has declared 49 different financial interests, all of which are earnings according to the Sky News/Tortoise data.
The largest single item Mr Redwood has declared is £50,000 in secondary earnings from Charles Stanley.
However, since 2019, Sir John has earned £674,800 from the firm.
Epic Private Equity paid him £14,630, Bite Sized Books £2,590,
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society paid £200, and Palgrave Macmillan/Spring £100.
