Newly elected MP Nigel Farage is set to travel to the US for the second time in just a month, where he will be earning a five-figure salary.
Farage is the keynote speaker at the Keep Arizona Free summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Saturday. The MP for Clacton and leader of the UK Reform Party has already received a deposit of around £12,000 for the speech.
He defended his decision, saying the talk was booked “over a year in advance” and “I’m not the kind of person to disappoint people or I’d get a terrible reputation for not doing so”. But Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, the Labour candidate for Clacton in last month’s election, said:
“We spoke to many people on the doorstep and it was clear that people want an active and committed MP. Despite charging a record amount, people are still struggling with the cost of living over the holiday season. This proves that he has always felt an obligation to himself and not to the people who sent him to serve.
” He flew to the US to “support” Donald Trump, expenses paid. He is considered the highest paid MP in the UK, earning more than £50,000 a month from his £91,000 parliamentary salary, plus TV appearances, journalism, social media posts and recording personal messages on the Cameo app.
Farage has already received a deposit of £11,783.55 (about $15,000) from the Arizona Liberty Network, co-organisers of Saturday’s conference. He said the MPs’ interest register would be “updated with the final payment as soon as pledges are fulfilled”.
He told us he had “no idea” what the final fare would be and that his staff would “manage it”. But he defended his decision to return to the US on Friday morning: “I already have commitments and contracts and I intend to stick to them because I’m not the kind of person who lets people down or I’ll get a terrible reputation for not doing that.”
“They announced my arrival a long time ago, so, firstly, I’m not violating anything I agreed to before, and secondly, unlike everyone else, I work seven days a week.”
He added, “I’ll be in Clacton all day tomorrow, I’ll be in Clacton all day Thursday, I’ll be leaving Clacton at midnight on Thursday and catching an early flight on Friday.” I’m there a few days a week, which I’d say is about the same as most MPs.
“I don’t live there right now but it would take time, so when I asked if he had many other speaking engagements booked, he said: “Just a few, I think.” There are no appointments booked beyond the end of the year.
Joe Maugham of the Good Law Project, whose researchers discovered the link, said: “Clacton voters must be delighted by the huge amounts of money Farage has in his pocket. What a blow for voters who have been duped by the increasingly wealthy.”
Carla Lewis, 43, a social worker and mother of four who lives in Clacton, said: “One time it was about the area’s problems – council housing, unemployment, poor education, mental health, violent crime that often goes unreported.
“The second time it was about the impact the election had on my family. I was threatened and my children were treated racistally. No answers have been given. I have not seen him here once since his election campaign.
“Clacton has never had the best reputation and I think it has made us a laughing stock. It is very rundown. Children can’t use the local park because there is drug paraphernalia and broken glass.
“Local people are not proud of their area and the council seems to have no resources to support people,” said Martin Suker, 31, a photographer and Labour activist from Clacton. “That our newly elected representative is drifting off to the US to run a political campaign, rather than focusing on the people who voted for him here in the last election campaign. Families continue to suffer from rising living costs over school holidays, while juggling work and childcare becomes increasingly difficult.
“Our city needs investment – better jobs, better schools and more opportunities. I don’t think Arizona can give us that.”
Farage had already faced criticism when he flew to the US last month, just two weeks after being elected. Reform UK donors paid for Mr Farage and “associates” to fly to Milwaukee in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
His explanation for the unpaid trip, worth £32,836 – that it was “to support a friend who was nearly killed and to represent Clacton on the world stage” – was widely laughed at. Asked why he had not made time for Clacton just 13 days after the general election, Mr Farage said: “Well, you are allowed to come to America for trips like this, especially in these circumstances.
I had originally planned to come to America and stay for a few months. I made up my mind: ‘No, I’m going to run for Clacton.'” But in the circumstances it was the right thing for me to come. I’ll only be here for a few days, that’s it. I’ll be back at the weekend.”
Mr Farage has already proven himself to be arguably the highest earner in the new Parliament. His interest records show he earned £97,928.40 working 32 hours a month as a presenter on GB News.
This is more than the £91,346 annual salary paid to MPs. However, he later clarified that the amount “includes VAT and is valid for several months of work”.
Farage told the BBC that as a contractor for GB News he is paid a variable amount rather than a fixed monthly fee. He also claimed £4,000 a month as a writer for the Daily Telegraph and £16,597 a month for recording private video messages on the app Cameo.
Farage earned £2,405 from an estimated 28 hours spent on the X and Meta social media platforms. He also reported rent for two properties he owns in the south-east.
