Keir Starmer’s plot to crack down on Nigel Farage and MPs’ second jobs dropped from speech at last minute

A pledge to ban MPs’ second jobs was dropped at the last moment by Sir Keir Starmer in his speech, GBN can reveal.

A draft circulated to journalists less than an hour before the PM gave the speech included the phrase “MPs’ second jobs banned” amid a long list of achievements by the three-month-old Labour Government.

However, when the speech was delivered by Starmer to 4,000 activists, MPs and Cabinet ministers, the commitment was then not in the delivered speech an hour later.

The last-minute change will fuel speculation that the PM is going cold on banning second jobs for MPs.

MPs are office holders and are allowed to take other paid employment if the work is declared to the House of Commons authorities.

Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell has said the Government wants to crack down on MPs’ second jobs MPs, particularly in broadcasting.

Powell has set up a new modernisation committee as part of the crackdown, where the members will consider if paid engagements, such as media appearances, are potential “conflicts of interest”.

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Powell will chair the committee alongside 14 members, nine of which are Labour.

That prompted a furious response from Nigel Farage, the GB News presenter, who won his seat in the Essex town of Clacton in the general election and has earned tens thousands of pounds a month from his media work.

Defending his GB News position and how his show does not show a “conflict of interest”, Farage noted that his show is that of a “debate” nature, and always has guests on his panel who disagree with him.

A Labour spokesman was approached by GB News about the decision to change the speech at the last moment.