Chart of the Day
The Moonlighting Class: Outside Earnings Have Gone From Habit to Norm
Outside earnings are no longer a Westminster fringe activity. Of the four parties shown, Reform tops the
chart, though on a tiny denominator. Among the larger parties, the Lib Dems now lead — nearly six in ten
have declared outside earnings — while Conservatives sit just under half and Labour is within four points
of the Conservative rate, despite Labour's 2024 pledge to curb paid advisory and consultancy roles.
2014 figures: Commons Library summary of Telegraph analysis of the Register of Members' Financial
Interests during 2014; party shares calculated against 2010 general election seat totals (Con 306,
Lab 258, LD 57). Reform UK had no parliamentary comparator. "Now" figures: MPData.uk analysis of the
Register, current Parliament, accessed July 2026 (Labour includes Labour/Co-operative MPs). The two
snapshots do not use identical classification methods and Register rules have changed over time, so the
direction of travel is stronger than the precise gap.
Sources: House of Commons Library, citing Telegraph (2014); MPData.uk (2026)
The GBTT Read
There is no clean, like-for-like official time series for MPs' outside earnings — the Register has
existed since 1974, was made more rigorous after the 1996 CSPL reforms, and its format and reporting
rules have changed over time. But every party with a genuine historical comparator here has moved the
same direction: outside earnings have gone from a minority pursuit toward standard practice, Labour's
2024 pledge on paid advisory and consultancy roles notwithstanding.