New financial disclosures reveal the Reform UK leader makes over £1M a year in non-parliamentary activities.
Most of Nigel Farage’s earnings are from being a presenter on GB News, which brings in close to £100,000 a month. | Jonathan Hordle/ITV via Getty Images
August 17, 2024
By Giovanna Coi
Nigel Farage appears to have become the top-earning British MP, according to new financial disclosures and media reports.
In the first register of financial interests for the newly elected British parliament, the Reform UK leader disclosed annual earnings of well over £1 million.
Most of Farage’s income comes from being a presenter on right-wing TV network GB News, which brings in close to £100,000 a month for working 32 hours, according to the filing.
He also received £16,597.22 from Cameo, an online platform allowing users to purchase personalized video messages from celebrities. He spent an estimated 24 hours every month recording these videos, according to the filing.
In addition, Farage was paid £4,000 a month writing commentary for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which takes up another 16 hours, the filing showed. Other engagements including speaking opportunities and social media revenue amounted to more than £13,000 with an estimated 64 hours of work.
All these sources of income would be on top of his salary as an MP, which amounts to £91,346 plus expenses for his office and staff, as well as housing costs either in his constituency or in London, according to the BBC.
With all his outside business — which occupied more than 130 hours of his time every month, or about 30 a week — Farage might struggle to fit his latest gig as elected MP for Clacton, in Essex, in his agenda.
The politician also declared a few trips funded by private donors, including travel to the U.S. last month after former U.S. President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. The trip cost £32,836 including flights and accommodation and was paid for by tech entrepreneur Christopher Harborne. Harborne has donated money to Boris Johnson and Farage’s Brexit Party, now rebranded as Reform UK.
In the financial declaration, Farage explained the purpose of the U.S. trip was to “support a friend who was almost killed and to represent Clacton on the world stage.”
By Giovanna Coi
Nigel Farage appears to have become the top-earning British MP, according to new financial disclosures and media reports.
In the first register of financial interests for the newly elected British parliament, the Reform UK leader disclosed annual earnings of well over £1 million.
Most of Farage’s income comes from being a presenter on right-wing TV network GB News, which brings in close to £100,000 a month for working 32 hours, according to the filing.
He also received £16,597.22 from Cameo, an online platform allowing users to purchase personalized video messages from celebrities. He spent an estimated 24 hours every month recording these videos, according to the filing.
In addition, Farage was paid £4,000 a month writing commentary for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which takes up another 16 hours, the filing showed. Other engagements including speaking opportunities and social media revenue amounted to more than £13,000 with an estimated 64 hours of work.
All these sources of income would be on top of his salary as an MP, which amounts to £91,346 plus expenses for his office and staff, as well as housing costs either in his constituency or in London, according to the BBC.
With all his outside business — which occupied more than 130 hours of his time every month, or about 30 a week — Farage might struggle to fit his latest gig as elected MP for Clacton, in Essex, in his agenda.
The politician also declared a few trips funded by private donors, including travel to the U.S. last month after former U.S. President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. The trip cost £32,836 including flights and accommodation and was paid for by tech entrepreneur Christopher Harborne. Harborne has donated money to Boris Johnson and Farage’s Brexit Party, now rebranded as Reform UK.
In the financial declaration, Farage explained the purpose of the U.S. trip was to “support a friend who was almost killed and to represent Clacton on the world stage.”
Nigel Farage denies getting £98,000 monthly salary from GB News
Sky News
Updated Sun, 18 August 2024
Nigel Farage has denied being paid nearly £98,000 a month for appearing on GB News.
The Reform UK leader was responding to reports about his secondary income.
The register of members' financial interests, published on Friday, listed Mr Farage as receiving £97,928 per month from the channel.
However, writing on X, he said: "To be clear... the GB News sum paid to me and declared includes VAT, and was for several months of work. It was paid to my company, which has significant expenses."
Mr Farage told the BBC he gets a varying amount from GB News as a contractor and does not get a fixed monthly sum.
The Clacton MP is back on the channel after cancelling his show during the general election.
Mr Farage also declared on the MPs' register £4,000 per month from The Daily Telegraph and a £16,597 payment for recording private video messages on the Cameo app.
The app allows people to pay celebrities for things such as bespoke birthday greetings.
MPs already get paid £91,000 per year plus expenses.
His entry also recorded a donation of £32,836 from businessman Christopher Harborne to pay for a visit to the US following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
The Reform UK leader stated the purpose of the visit was to "support a friend who was almost killed and to represent Clacton on the world stage".
Mr Farage, 60, became an MP at the eighth attempt when he won the Essex constituency with a majority of more than 8,000.
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Other notable entries on the MPs' register include Lee Anderson, another Reform MP, declaring £100,000 a year for also working on GB News.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was paid £49,245 by radio station LBC from August 2023 to May 2024, but he quit the role before the election was called.
Rishi Sunak - who along with his wife is a multimillionaire - recorded five helicopter trips worth over £47,000 paid for by donors.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer received tickets for 12 football games and tickets to a Taylor Swift concert in June.
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