George Freeman: My £120,000 ministerial salary wasn’t enough

At £120,000 a year, George Freeman was in the top 3 per cent of earners as science minister – but he says that is why he stood down two months ago. His mortgage went up and his pay – £75,000 after the tax increases of his government – suddenly wasn’t enough. He had many reasons to quit, he says on his Substack, but one was ‘because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a ministerial salary.’ So he stood down and was free to top up his MP’s salaries with consultancy. 

Chris Skidmore has shown how Tories can slip into consistent work and make serious money. But isn’t £120,000 a year serious money? Freeman seems not to think so. ‘That’s political economy 2.0. We’re in danger of making politics something only hedge fund donors, young spin doctors and failed trade unionists can afford to do.