How much do Wiltshire MPs earn on top of their salary?

The basic salary for an MP is £81,932 plus expenses which need to be declared.

However, MPs are also allowed to have second jobs (unless they are ministers) meaning they often bring home a lot more than their MP's salary.

The extra earnings of parliamentarians have come under scrutiny in the past week, spiked by the Owen Paterson lobbying row and news that Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Cox earned almost £900,000 in the last year.

All MPs are required to register any financial interests they may have, which are relevant to their parliamentary work, as per the House of Commons code of conduct, and this information is publicly available. 

The Journal has put together financial declarations from Conservative MPs John Glen (Salisbury), Danny Kruger (Devizes), Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), and Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) last published in November. 

Of the four, £41,000 was the highest amount declared under extra employment and earnings.

The register also shows two MPs employed their wives who are paid from parliamentary expenses, and two joint-owned property or land over the value of £100,000. 

Danny Kruger

The MP for Devizes, Danny Kruger, had three roles listed on his declaration of Financial Interests under Miscellaneous. 

Two of these were trustee roles for charities, and one was an unpaid director role. 

In 2006 Mr Kruger and his wife Emma founded one of the charities, Only Connect, that works with men and women in prison or who have been recently released to help them live crime-free lives. 

The entries from Mr Kruger's Register of Members' Financial Interests as at November 2021 are listed below in full:

Miscellaneous

• Trustee of Only Connect, a charity that works with men and women in prison or recently released, with the aim of helping them live crime-free lives. (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 11 February 2020)
• Trustee of Catch 22, a charity that works at every stage of the social welfare cycle to build resilience and aspiration in people and communities. (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 11 February 2020)
• From 8 December 2020, unpaid Director of the New Social Covenant Unit Ltd, a company which supports social policy research. (Registered 13 January 2021)

John Glen

Salisbury’s MP John Glen declared three listings for shareholdings valued at more than £70,000. 

These shares were in: Endava Ltd., which offers IT services and consultancy globally; Softiron, a company that designs data storage software manufactured in California; and Blue International Group, a mining, energy and infrastructure business in Africa that advertises taking a ‘sustainable approach’. 

The entries from Mr Glen's Register of Members' Financial Interests as at November 2021 are listed below in full:

Other shareholdings, valued at more than £70,000

• Endava Ltd; IT services and consultancy. Achieved registrable value on 8 May 2015. (Registered 19 May 2015)
• From 25 November 2019, Softiron; design and development of application software for data storage. (Registered 10 January 2020)
• Blue International Group; natural resources business operating in Sub Saharan Africa. Achieved registrable value on 5 April 2021. (Registered 12 April 2021)

Mr Glen said: “I continue to fully disclose my declarable interests as required. I have one source of income which is my MP’s salary and do not draw a salary as a minister.”

Sir Desmond Swayne

Sir Desmond Swayne who has represented New Forest West continuously since 1997 declared two properties which both have a value of over £100,000 and give rental income of over £10,000 a year.

These properties are a flat and a house, both in London, jointly owned by Sir Desmond and his wife, Moira. 

Mrs Swayne is also listed under 'family members employed and paid from parliamentary expenses' as Sir Desmond’s secretary.

The MP has also received a number of payments from surveys but these were ‘paid direct to charity’ according to his register. 

These payments across different companies between October 2020 and September 2021 came up to a total of £2,725.

The entries from Mr Swayne's Register of Members' Financial Interests as at November 2021 are summarised below:

Employment and earnings

• Fees from Savanta ComRes, 4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA, paid direct to charity: [Overall £550 in payments received between October 2020- July 2021]
• Fees from YouGov, 50 Featherstone St, London EC1Y 8RT, paid direct to charity: [Overall £1000 in payments received between January 2021- September 2021]
• Fees from Ipsos MORI, 3 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, paid direct to charity: [Overall £1175 in payments received between November 2020- June 2021]

Land and property portfolio: (i) value over £100,000 and/or (ii) giving rental income of over £10,000 a year

• Flat in London, jointly owned with [Sir Desmond's] wife: (i) and (ii). (Updated 20 May 2015)
• House in London, jointly owned with [Sir Desmond's] wife: (i) and (ii). (Updated 20 May 2015)

Family members employed and paid from parliamentary expenses

• [Sir Desmond] employ[s] [his] wife, Moira Swayne, as Secretary. (Updated 20 May 2015)

Dr Andrew Murrison

The MP for South West Wiltshire, Dr Andrew Murrison, who has represented the constituency since its formation in 2010 received a large amount of earnings from his role as Surgeon Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. 

Between November 2020 and September 2021 he received £40,222.40 for 878 listed hours of work, which is roughly £45.81 an hour.

Dr Murrison pointed out that most of this money came from his work administering coronavirus vaccines earlier in the year.

The MP also received payments of £900 from Eden and Partners in London for giving seminars and participating in an online symposium between November 2020 and September 2021. 

Money he gained for taking part in an Ipsos Mori survey, £275, in June 2021 went 'directly to charity'. 

Dr Murrison also jointly owns 'agricultural buildings and field' in Wiltshire of a value over £100,000 with his wife Jennifer.

Mrs Murrison is employed and paid from parliamentary expenses as part-time Senior Caseworker.

The entries from Dr Murrison's Register of Members' Financial Interests as at November 2021 are are summarised below: 

Employment and earnings

• Surgeon Commander Royal Naval Reserve, HMS President, St Katherine’s Dock, London. (Updated 15 January 2014 and 2 October 2015): [Overall £40,222.40 in payments received between November 2020- September 2021]
• Payments from Eden and Partners, 50 Broadway, London SW1H 0RG: [Overall £900 in payments received between November 2020 - September 2021]
• Payments from Ipsos MORI, 3 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, for surveys. All fees donated directly to charity: [Overall £275 in payments expected between November 2020 - September 2021]

Land and property portfolio: (i) value over £100,000 and/or (ii) giving rental income of over £10,000 a year

• Joint owner, with [Dr Murrison's] wife, of agricultural buildings and field in Wiltshire: (i).

Family members employed and paid from parliamentary expenses

• [Dr Murrison] employ[s] [his] wife, Jennifer Murrison, as part-time Senior Caseworker. (Updated 29 June 2015)

Get more Salisbury news. 

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date, as well as signing up for one of our newsletters.

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering or a digital subscription.

Email newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.