The ex-prime minister and his Conservative colleagues have been pulling in vast sums from consulting positions, despite Labour’s commitment to outlaw such arrangements.
The former party leader, who completed a politics, philosophy and economics degree at the Oxford institution in the late 1990s, now ranks among Westminster’s most lucrative backbenchers thanks to numerous corporate appointments.
The Oxford graduate, now 46, secured senior posts with leading international corporations after departing Number 10 in 2024, even as the governing party prepares to restrict what MPs can earn externally.
Research by the Financial Times examining the register of members’ interests reveals Mr Sunak is among a dozen parliamentarians who reported receiving over £50,000 from advisory or consultancy work since July 2024.
Eleven of those twelve previously held ministerial positions within the Conservative Party, with their collective reported earnings from such roles across the past two years reaching approximately £3.4m.
Anti-corruption organisation Transparency International UK told the newspaper these arrangements raised issues about potential clashes between public duty and private gain, and pointed out that some parliamentarians appeared to be prioritising financial extraction from their political profile over serving their constituents.
Regarding Mr Sunak specifically, the FT documented annual payments of £1.1m for his position as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs, with the former premier contributing that income to charitable causes.
He additionally serves as senior adviser to the American technology corporation Microsoft and to Anthropic, having also reported share-based remuneration valued at £370,000 from Anthropic, which was likewise directed to charity.
Other senior Conservative figures singled out in the newspaper’s probe include Sir Geoffrey Cox, the former chief legal adviser to the government, who receives almost £300,000 annually for a part-time consultancy commitment of 30 hours monthly at the law practice Withers.
Sir Oliver Dowden, who acted as Mr Sunak’s second-in-command, accumulated more than £390,000 since late 2024, encompassing his position as strategy adviser at the investment firm Caxton Associates.
Former science minister George Freeman, who has previously raised concerns that political careers are becoming financially unsustainable, reported roughly £310,000 from advisory positions.
Sir Gavin Williamson, who served as defence secretary under Theresa May and as education secretary under Boris Johnson, earns the equivalent of £108,000 yearly across two advisory appointments, one of which is with an Israeli artificial intelligence aerospace enterprise.
Tom Tugendhat, who held the security brief in Liz Truss’s administration, currently occupies posts generating more than £70,000 annually, alongside further advisory board positions where he receives share-based compensation.
The FT discovered that the sole non-Conservative parliamentarian to have reported exceeding £50,000 from advisory work is Labour’s Dan Carden, with two appointments yielding approximately £53,000 yearly at the addiction treatment provider Steps Together Group and the American artificial intelligence company Green Rock Robotics.
Members of parliament receive a base annual salary of £98,599 and are permitted to hold additional employment, though they are prohibited from offering paid parliamentary assistance and must register any external income along with the associated responsibilities.
The 2024 Labour election platform contained a pledge to support an immediate ban on MPs accepting paid advisory or consultancy positions, cautioning that certain members dedicate more hours to secondary employment or promoting external interests than representing their constituents.
Labour backbencher Phil Brickell subsequently expressed frustration in the House of Commons that introducing the promised curbs was proceeding at a very slow pace, calling for a complete prohibition on most secondary occupations.
The FT observation pointed out that Labour has not advocated preventing speaking fees or alternative supplementary income, with prominent figures including Angela Rayner having reported substantial payments for public appearances this year.
The Conservative Party informed the FT it took pride in its members bringing commercial sector expertise into the Commons, maintaining its desire for representatives who comprehend real-world business operations.