These are GB News’s highest-earning Conservative MPs – and some of their more memorable moments:
Lee Anderson
Earnings so far: £103,350 – one year of his £100,000 annual presenting salary, topped up by one-off payments for earlier shows, plus the £50-a-month the channel gives him for having a square GB News logo on his X profile page.
Earnings per hour: £240 (£100,000 for eight hours a week).
Notable contributions: As a presenter, possibly his interview last year with the then home secretary, Suella Braverman, a Tory-to-Tory chat which the broadcast regulator Ofcom said did not breach any rules. His most infamous comments were as a guest, last Friday, when he said Sadiq Khan was under the “control” of Islamists, which saw him stripped of the Conservative whip.
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Earnings so far: £324,121.44 in the last year, working as a presenter.
Earnings per hour: £732 (£29,290.47 a month for 40 hours’ work).
Notable contributions: Paradoxical as it might sound to some, Rees-Mogg is arguably something of a voice of reason in the context of GB News, at least compared to the likes of Anderson and Nigel Farage – even if he occasionally uses words such as “remoaner” which might not work so well on the BBC.
He has not, however, escaped controversy. Ofcom is investigating whether one Rees-Mogg show broke guidelines preventing politicians from acting as newsreaders. Although his is an opinion-based programme, in one episode the MP stopped the regular coverage for news about a trial verdict involving Donald Trump.
Esther McVey and Philip Davies
Earnings so far: £129,183.08 (McVey) and £62,233.13 (Davies)
Earnings per hour: Variable. With the last payments, McVey was on £380, Davies on £189.
Notable contributions: McVey and Davies are not just MPs, they are also married to each other and, in the best tradition of Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, come as a co-presenter couple. While Davies worked for Asda before becoming an MP, McVey has media credentials, presenting a series of TV shows – including GMTV, alongside Holmes – before entering parliament.
McVey and Davies were formally reprimanded by Ofcom after the regulator ruled that an interview they conducted with Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, before last year’s budget, “failed to represent a wide range of significant views”.
The duo were accused of hosting a “love-in” interview with Hunt on their regular GB News slot, Saturday Morning with Esther and Philip.
