Politicians are some of the most highly scrutinised people in society. We want to know where they live, who they are married to, and how much they are worth. TV hosts don’t follow too far behind either: they are another brand of celebrity whose faces we come to know and about whom we are generally very curious.
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At times, these groups provide us with some crazy stories that cause controversy all by themselves: Angela Rayner has recently come under fire over the £48K she pocketed from her former council house sale, and Dan Wootton has left many outraged after he seemingly side-stepped any legal repercussions for his misconduct on GB News.
However, sometimes we have to do a little digging to find out more about these people we see on our screens. Today, we’ll take a look at the people who fall into both of these categories: here are the top-earning Tory MPs who work at GB News.
Lee Anderson
Lee Anderson has been in hot water recently, following his claims that Labour leader Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are ‘controlled by Islamists’. These comments, which Anderson made as a guest, saw him stripped of the party whip. However, he is no stranger to controversy. Anderson presents his own show on GB News, Lee Anderson’s Real World, in which he frequently opposes ‘woke’ views and speaks up for what he calls the ‘silent majority’.
Anderson earns a six-figure salary for his presenting role, and raked in £103,350 in the past year. That works out at £240 an hour. Any extra appearances he makes will top him up even further and he is paid a monthly sum of £50 for having the GB News logo on his X profile.
Jacob Rees-Mogg
GB News’s website urges viewers to tune into Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State Of The Nation to ‘join Jacob for his unique and unmissable take on the day’s news’. For his presenting work, Rees-Mogg made £324,121.44 in the past year. He earns over double what Anderson does per hour, with a whopping rate of £732.
Rees-Mogg’s show is an opinion-based programme, but he has come under investigation over whether or not he broke guidelines during a particular segment. The rules prevent politicians like Rees-Mogg from acting as newsreaders, but the MP stopped regular coverage during one of his shows to report on the outcome of one of Donald Trump’s legal battles.
Esther McVey and Philip Davies
Much like Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Esther and Philip make up two parts of one married hosting duo. Their show, Saturday Morning with Esther & Philip, sees the pair carry out interviews - including a controversially kind one with Jeremy Hunt which Ofcom said ‘failed to represent a wide range of significant views’.
Esther has earned £129,183.08 in the last 12 months while Philip has cashed in slightly less at £62,233.13. Not bad - especially when you remember each of these presenters are also earning their MP's salary of £86,584.
Read more:
⋙ Former Tory MP Lee Anderson’s wife suffers from cystic fibrosis: What is the health condition?
⋙ Keir Starmer: The Labour leader's first official biography is out now
⋙ Sir Keir Starmer earns a six-figure salary: Here's how much the Labour leader gets paid
Sources used:
The Guardian: GB News’s highest-paid Tory MPs – and how much they have received
