Kwasi Kwarteng admitted at the weekend that he was badly hit by his own disastrous mini-Budget – revealing his mortgage payments had soared “a great deal”.
The former Tory chancellor has also struggled to keep up with his old boss Liz Truss when it comes to earnings outside parliament since the pair left Downing Street in ignominy.
Mr Kwarteng has made £34,000 from a single overseas speech and various media appearances since he was sacked in October during Britain’s financial meltdown.
The Tory MP for Spelthorne was handed £27,000 for a speech to bankers at the Fund Experts Forum in Switzerland in April, entitled: “ Growth Plan for Europe – How to Get Back in the Driver’s Seat”.
Mr Kwarteng has also made £4,000 for recent appearances on the Dan Wooton’s GB News programme to talk about his brief stint at No 11 and his views on economy.
However, the sums are dwarfed by the money made Ms Truss – who has managed to rake in close to £190,000 from the international speaking circuit since the Tory party kicked her out of No 10 after only six weeks.
The lucrative gigs mean the former Tory leader, the shortest-ever serving PM, now has the highest hourly rate of any current MP – making a mammoth £15,000 per hour.
Like Boris Johnson, Ms Truss is also enjoying some huge payments for speaking on global affairs, pocketing £80,000 for a recent speech in Taiwan on the threat posed by China.
Having signed up with Chartwell Speakers agency, she also received £32,000 for a speech to a newspaper in Switzerland, £65,000 for a speech to a media firm in India, and £6,000 for a speaking engagement at Tokyo University.
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, during their brief stint at the head of UK government— (PA)
Ms Truss received an extra £18,000 from the taxpayer as part of the severance payments given to exiting prime minister, despite howls of outrage from Labour and the Lib Dems. Mr Kwarteng received £16,000 severance payment.
The ex-chancellor – once a close friend of Ms Truss – is not thought to be in line for a gong or peerage as part of her forthcoming resignation honours. But several key supporters and aides are thought to be on her list.
She had nominated at least 16 people – but two have turned them down, according to The Times. One source told the newspaper they felt an honour from Ms Truss would be “humiliating”, while another potential recipient said they did not deserve it.
Those nominated for a peerage by Ms Truss reportedly include Tory donor Sir Jon Moynihan, who gave £20,000 to her leadership campaign.
Mark Littlewood – the outgoing boss of the right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – is also said to be in line for a peerage. The IEA backed Ms Truss’ disastrous mini-Budget of unfunded tax cuts.
Matthew Elliott, who led the Vote Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum in 2016, and Ms Truss’s former deputy chief of staff Ruth Porter are also said to be on the list for peerages.
