Tag: John Redwood

John Redwood

Tory MP for: Wokingham (Berkshire, SE England)
First elected: 1987
2017 majority over Labour: 18,798 (31.5%)
Seat at-risk ranking: 215th (out of 317 Tory MPs)

Former Government posts:

  • Welsh Secretary (May 1993-June 1995)
  • Local Government Minister (April 1992-May 1993)
  • Corporate Affairs Minister (July 1989-April 1992)
  • Downing Street Chief of Policy (May 1982-Nov 1987)

[Wikipedia entry on John Redwood]
[Wikipedia entry on Wokingham constituency]

John Redwood admits it: there never was a reason for austerity

From Tax Research UK: John Redwood has admitted there is no need for a government to balance its books. He has admitted QE cancels debt. He has then admitted the whole ‘passing debt to the next generation’ phobia is wrong. And he has admitted as a result that there was no reason for austerity, the imposition of which served no economic purpose.

As a result he has, in two paragraphs, shredded the whole economic rationale on which he has been elected to Parliament.

And in so doing he has driven coach and horses through all those who still say that austerity must continue, because what he has done is make clear that if this is economically unnecessary then  it can only be driven by incompetence, or a hatred of government, or class warfare, or all three.

[Read full column on Tax Research UK…]

Jacob Rees-Mogg and 7 other Tory MPs make more from second jobs than Jeremy Corbyn earns in total

From Political Scrapbook: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow Chancellor John McDonnell have published their tax returns for the third consecutive year today. They showed Corbyn earned £136,762 from MP’s pay, his salary as leader of the opposition and pension, while McDonnell made £87,353 from MP’s pay and pension.

The amount earned by the leaders of the opposition pale into insignificance when compared to the sums raked in by top Tories from their side jobs alone. The register of MPs’ interests shows:

  • Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is now favourite to become the next Tory leader, made £173,854 in the 2016/17 tax year from Somertset Capital, the investment firm he runs with Tory donor Dominic Johnson.
  • Nadine Dorries earned £144,000 over the same period for working 12 hours-a-week for a publishing company. She was previously forced to apologise for failing to declare her £82,000 ‘I’m a Celebrity’ appearance fee.
  • Michael Gove was paid £150,000 for writing a column for the Times before rejoining the Cabinet.
  • John Redwood, who wants to scrap workers’ rights from the EU, is being paid £183,600-a-year for a 75 hour-a-quarter commitment to an investment advisory firm.
  • Andrew Mitchell, who doesn’t know how much the rate of the minimum wage, is making £156,000-a-year from four separate side jobs.
  • Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, is raking in a whopping £222,168-a-year from three different side jobs.
  • And Nadhim Zahawi, the Children’s Minister who attended the Presidents Club gropefest, made £148,000 for just five months work as the Chief Strategy Officer for an oil firm before leaving the role in December.