Farage paid £189,000 for part-time job as ‘brand ambassador’ for gold bullion firm, register reveals
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has been paid £189,000 for a part-time job as a “brand ambassador” for a gold bullion firm, it has emerged today.
Rowena Mason revealed that Farage had taken on the job in a Guardian story last month, but we now know how much the MP is being paid because he has declared the job in the latest edition of register of MPs’ interests.
Farage says, since being elected as an MP, he has been spending no more than four hours a month doing this job, although he was also working for the company before the election, he says.
Farage also earns considerable sums as a GB News presenter and the Mail has calculated that, since the election, he has earned more than £500,000 from second jobs, in addition to the £91,000 a year he earns as MP for Clacton.
The register also confirms that, as well as being broadly aligned politically with Elon Musk, Farage and some of his Reform UK colleagues earn money from Musk’s social media company X by providing it with popular tweets. X pays users for content that generates engagement, and populist politicians can generally do this very effectively.
Farage say he received £140 from X in December, taking his total earnings from the platform since the election to £5,481.
Lee Anderson has received £1,720 from the company since the election. And Rupert Lowe has been paid £4,644 by X since the election.
Key events
UK long-term borrowing costs at highest since 1998 amid fears over weak growth
The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs have reached the highest level since 1998 amid investor concerns over Britain’s sluggish growth prospects and stubbornly high inflation, Richard Partington reports.
And this is from Pippa Crerar on the government’s response.
No 10’s response to UK’s long-term government borrowing costs hitting highest level since 1998
“There’s no doubt about the government’s commitment to economic stability and sound public finances… We will not repeat a budget like this one again.”
But it creates problem for Rachel Reeves who plans to borrow hundreds of billions of pounds to fund higher public investment and spending.
The government has spent £80,000 repainting the media briefing room at 9 Downing Street, Christopher Hope from GB News reports.
The blue boards in the Number 9 media briefing room made famous by those Covid 19 TV press conferences have now been painted grey and others covered in new panelling in a one off refresh to make it a “politically neutral setting” according to the PM’s official spokesman. The cost is under £80,000.
Number 10 says this spending must be set against the Government taking £80m a year out of its communications budget.
The PM is now likely to hold press conferences there.
Here are before and after pictures.
Farage paid £189,000 for part-time job as ‘brand ambassador’ for gold bullion firm, register reveals
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has been paid £189,000 for a part-time job as a “brand ambassador” for a gold bullion firm, it has emerged today.
Rowena Mason revealed that Farage had taken on the job in a Guardian story last month, but we now know how much the MP is being paid because he has declared the job in the latest edition of register of MPs’ interests.
Farage says, since being elected as an MP, he has been spending no more than four hours a month doing this job, although he was also working for the company before the election, he says.
Farage also earns considerable sums as a GB News presenter and the Mail has calculated that, since the election, he has earned more than £500,000 from second jobs, in addition to the £91,000 a year he earns as MP for Clacton.
The register also confirms that, as well as being broadly aligned politically with Elon Musk, Farage and some of his Reform UK colleagues earn money from Musk’s social media company X by providing it with popular tweets. X pays users for content that generates engagement, and populist politicians can generally do this very effectively.
Farage say he received £140 from X in December, taking his total earnings from the platform since the election to £5,481.
Lee Anderson has received £1,720 from the company since the election. And Rupert Lowe has been paid £4,644 by X since the election.
Election Commission chiefs struggle to defend photo ID law in hearing with MPs
Vijay Rangarajan, chief executive at the Electoral Commission, gave evidence to the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committe with some of his colleagues this morning. They were asked about the way the 2024 election was run. It was the first general election where photo ID was required but, as Peter Walker reports in posts on Bluesky, Rangarajan struggled to defend the policy introduced by the Conservative government.
At the Electoral Commission hearing, Lib Dems’ Luke Taylor cites statistics for the tiny numbers of voter personation offences before voter ID, and asks if it was worth the effort. There is a *very* long pause before Vijay Rangarajan, the chief exec, starts answering a slightly different question.
Labour MP Chris Curtis asks the Electoral Commission bigwigs to reassure him that the negatives created by voter ID were worth it given the tiny amount of fraud. EC chair John Pullinger says the rollout was “better than many feared it would be”. Well, that’s one answer, I suppose.
Curtis isn’t especially satisfied with the answer, and repeats the question: given the lack of personation fraud, or voter worries about it, why did the EC recommend voter ID? Pullinger’s answer, as far as I could follow it, seems to be: well, other countries have it.
In the closest this hearing has yet seen of some apparent self-awareness from the Electoral Commission, Pullinger concedes that voter ID as implemented was “more of a divisive policy than it needed to be” eg given the last govt’s insistence it was in place at speed.
The government’s approval rating is lower than at any point since the election, according to polling from YouGov.
Even people who voted Labour at the election are more likely to say they disapprove than approve of the government’s record, it says.
Yesterday the Conservatives said they would try to force a vote on having a national inquiry into child abuse by gangs by tabling an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill.
The normal way to do this would be at report stage, where all MPs might get the chance to vote on a specific inquiry amendment (provided it is ruled in order, and called by the speaker).
But, according to the Telegraph, the Conservative party have confirmed that instead they will try to force a vote by tabling a “reasoned amendment” during the second reading debate tomorrow. A reasoned amendment is an amendment saying a bill should not receive a second reading, for reasons set out in the text of the amendment. A vote for a reasoned amendment is a vote to kill the bill entirely.
The Conservatives said last month they were opposed to the bill because it will limit some of the freedoms enjoyed by academies (for example, over teachers’ pay). If there is a vote on the reasoned amendment, the Tories are certain to lose. But they will then be able to claim that Labour MPs voted against a new child abuse inquiry – even though that would be misleading interpretation of the vote, because the vote will be about the future of the bill as a whole.
Another aspect of the bill is that it will create a register of children being educated at home – a move that government claims will close one of the loopholes that led to the murder of Sara Sharif. Labour will be able to argue that a vote against the bill is a vote against child protection.
At the housing committee Lee Dillon, a Lib Dem, says Labour committed to having multi-year funding settlements for councils. He asks why the government has not started that yet.
Angela Rayner says the government wants have multi-year funding. But when the government came into office, there was a black hole in the budget, she says. It had to stabilise funding. And she says the situation for councils in particular was “quite dire”. She says the priority was to stabilise funding for this year.
Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, has just started giving evidence to the Commons housing committee. There is a live feed here.
People in Gaza trapped in ‘doom loop of hell’, MPs told
People in Gaza are trapped in a “doom loop of hell”, MPs were told today, as a minister faced criticism from all main parties over the government’s reluctance to be more critical of Israel’s policy in the war.
Layla Moran, the Lib Dem MP, used the phrase as she asked an urgent question on the situation in Gaza.
Moran, who is of Christian Palestinian heritage, asked what the UK government was doing to stop Palestinians being killed. She referred to Mohammad, a surgeon living in the UK who operated on her, whose family are trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. She told MPs:
I am sorry to report that this weekend, death didn’t come knocking, but rather it was dropped by a precision drone as Mohammad’s brother and his son walked 10 metres to get aid.
The son died of a brain injury. Two 13-year-old girls and their mother have shrapnel wounds and Mohammad’s elderly father, who was already ill, is in hospital. That three-year-old, her mother and his mother are alone in a house with no one to help them get food.
These were obviously not militants. They were sick. They are not legitimate targets of war. There is no excuse for this. Mohammad told me it feels like they’re living in The Hunger Games, dodging drones, scavenging for the basics, even if they wanted to leave, how can they?
Moran asked the Foreign Office minister, Hamish Falconer, what the UK was doing to stop the killing. She said:
People in Gaza are trapped in a doom loop of hell. Hospitals decimated, ceasefires promised and never delivered. And so I press the government again, is this really everything the UK has got?
Have we deployed everything to make this stop? When will we recognise Palestine? Why haven’t we stopped arms trade to Israel? And when will the government ban trading with illegal settlements? The frustration is palpable. Our grief is fathomless. People across the UK are looking on in horror, and the horror in Gaza must stop now.
Kit Malthouse, a former Conservative cabinet minister, also criticised Israeli policy. He said:
I was going to ask about the freezing babies, the babies that are freezing to death while blankets are being denied entry into Gaza, but I don’t think we are going to be doing much about that. Or indeed the denial of access for cancer medication, anaesthetic, or crutches or the bombing of every single hospital.
The minister said he and his team are frustrated. But given the partial application of international law and the government’s unwillingness to take any significant steps to either compel the imposition of the ceasefire, or compliance with international law, rather than frustrated, isn’t he ashamed? That millions of people in this country and around the world believe there is an inherent racism at the heart of British foreign policy in this regard? That says that Palestinian lives matter much less than any other lives, or indeed than Israeli lives.
And John McDonnell, the former Labour shadow chancellor, said the UK should expel the Israeli ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely. He explained:
I think this government could take a leading role in that isolation of Israel to bring it some form of negotiated settlement, but can I just say one thing that grates with me in particular? It’s that we have an Israeli ambassador who’s an advocate of ‘Greater Israel’, refuses to recognise the Palestinian state, defies all the UN resolutions that have been passed about how we can secure that peace, and she still remains in this country. Why aren’t we expelling the Israeli ambassador?
In his opening statement, Falconer said:
The UK condemns Israel’s restriction on aid in the strongest terms. The scale of human suffering is unimaginable. We have been clear this is a man-made crisis, and Israel must act immediately to address it.
Air strikes within the designated humanitarian zone show there are no safe spaces left for civilians. Reports of up to eight children having died from cold weather conditions are unconscionable.
Responding to McDonnell and his point about the ambassador, Falconer said it was a mistake to think “if only we had representatives more to our tastes politically, then things would be easier”.
But he was more critical of Malthouse. Responding to the Tory MP, he said:
If the benches opposite me want to give me a hard time about what is being done in relation to the people in Gaza, I would turn to your own record, whether it is in relation to aid into Gaza, whether it’s in relation to the ICC, the ICJ.
Urgent questions normally last about 45 minutes, but today responses went on for more than an hour and a half.
Steven Morris
MPs from the south-west, south and west of England have called for the resignation of South West Water boss Susan Davy, citing the company’s ongoing failures to address sewage dumping, rising water bills, and poor service delivery.
Ben Maguire, the Lib Dem MP for North Cornwall said the calls follow reports of Christmas swims being cancelled across the south-west due to sewage pollution.
The letter says:
The scale of the crisis under your leadership is now intolerable. In North Cornwall, blue flag beaches, some of the most beautiful in the country, were subjected to more than 2,700 hours of sewage discharges across 148 separate incidents last year. Every single incident of sewage dumping, in the eyes of our constituents, is one too many – and each represents a real harm to families, local businesses, and the natural environment.
The letter has also been signed by Lib Dems Andrew George (St Ives) and Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) and the Labour MP for Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan.
Davy is the chief executive of Pennon Group, which owns South West Water.
Scottish Lib Dems says they are hoping for concessions that could persuade them to vote for SNP budget
Severin Carrell
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, has confirmed his party hopes to wrangle a deal with Scottish ministers which would be good enough to win their four votes at Holyrood.
His confirmation follows an incredulous response from other parties to claims from John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, that the Scottish budget could fall because his minority government might lose the vote on it, risking public services and a rise in populist-fuelling anger amongst voters.
Cole-Hamilton said Scottish Labour’s confirmation earlier today (see 9.40am) that it would not block the budget made it clear there would be no crisis, and therefore no risk of an early election – despite Swinney’s theatrics.
He indicated the Lib Dems would abstain on the budget at the very least, but were still angling for more concessions:
You can already see significant Liberal Democrat demands baked into the pages of the budget’s first draft. There is the reinstatement of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, spending on social care, affordable homes, family carers, additional support needs, GPs, dentists, long covid, the Belford hospital in Fort William and Edinburgh’s Eye Pavilion [an eye hospital].
There is no deal at present, our support is not guaranteed, but we continue to negotiate with the government and expect more talks in the coming days.
The Labour MP Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, has also criticised Robert Jenrick for his recent comments about race. (See 12.32pm.) In an article for LabourList, she cites them as evidence “the debate on migration and asylum in British mainstream politics has never been more toxic”. She says Keir Starmer should intervene by starting to make a postive case for immigration.
Sadly, the new Labour government led by prime minister Keir Starmer is offering little or nothing to counter the anti-migrant drift in worldwide public discussion …
In the current rightward shift in the international discussion on migration it has never been more important that British political leadership makes the case for immigration policy based on fairness and the facts rather than fear and scapegoating. It is not too late for the Labour government to take that path.
Plaid Cymru claims Labour can no longer give Wales leadership it needs
Steven Morris
At the start of its centenary year, Plaid Cymru is arguing it has the alternative vision needed to win power from Labour, which has dominated politics in Wales for more than a century.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the start of a crucial – and potentially very exciting – year for Plaid, its leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said Labour was failing Welsh citizens, citing NHS waiting lists and crises such as the Welsh ambulance service declaring a critical incident at new year.
Ap Iorwerth said:
We will be making the case for new leadership and the fresh start that I believe Wales urgently needs with Plaid Cymru at the helm. Over the next three months, we’ll give more detail about our ambitious offer of change for the people of Wales, better public services and improved NHS, an economy that creates good jobs, a government that will be unrelenting and fighting for fairness for our communities.
Plaid believes it can make dramatic gains at the 2026 Senedd elections. Ap Iorwerth said:
We’ll be starting next week by publishing our plan to bring down NHS waiting lists. And we’ve got a clear message. If people in Wales want to see Wales put first, if they feel let down by Labour, if they’re looking for an alternative, and crucially in these times of uncertainty and division, looking for a driven government that will be focusing on turning the corner for Wales.
The Plaid leader said the Labour government in Cardiff was unwilling to challenge its “masters” in Westminster to call for more for Wales.
He referred to a blog by the former Labour minister Lee Waters who suggested his party needed to shake off the perception it was managing the status quo.
Ap Iorwerth said his sense was that there is a realisation that Labour governing Wales was not inevitable. “There’s an opportunity for change,” he said. “The Labour establishment is not as good as it gets for Wales.”
In her Today programme interview this morning Prof Alexis Jay, chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, said that the controversy generated by Elon Musk “may well have given [the government’ some kind of impetus to move forward” with its announcement about implementing some of her reports recommendations.
But at the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning, the PM’s spokesperson did not accept that the announcement about been rushed forward because of the Musk row. He said:
The government has been working since it came into office on measures to protect children, to halve violence against women and girls.
On mandatory reporting, the prime minister and home secretary called for these changes 10 years ago. Work on the mandatory reporting criminal offence, the write-round for that kicked off last year and obviously has just concluded ahead of the announcement, so obviously that work’s been ongoing for some time.
