Former Chancellor takes job at banking giant JP Morgan while remaining as MP for Bromsgrove
Former Chancellor Sajid Javid has taken a job at JP Morgan, just six months after quitting his leading role in Government.
The former finance minister has returned to the American banking giant, while staying on as an MP for the Worcestershire constituency of Bromsgrove.
The role at JP Morgan marks a return to Javid's roots - he’d worked for the finance company throughout the 1990s - and remained in the banking industry up until 2009, a year before his move into politics.
He’s now been appointed as a senior adviser on the bank's advisory council for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The firm wouldn’t say how much Javid's salary would be, but confirmed he would be paid for his work.
Mr Javid resigned from the Cabinet in February following a power struggle with the Prime Minister's chief adviser Dominic Cummings.
He refused to fire his closest aides and replace them with candidates chosen by Cummings and Number 10.
Javid's protege, Rishi Sunak, was swiftly shuffled into the role of Chancellor once Javid made it clear he was standing down.
Can MPs have two jobs?
Yes.
Javid remains an MP, representing the 75,000 constituents of Bromsgrove in Parliament.
Being an MP is considered by many a full-time job on its own.
But, MPs are permitted to have second jobs, as they risk losing both their job and income as an MP every time there's an election.
In the UK, that typically happens every five years - but we’ve recently had more elections than normal.
MPs risked losing their jobs three times in the last five years alone; in May 2015, June 2017 and December 2019.
Even the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, famously wrote regular pieces for the Daily Telegraph.
The bank didn't disclose his hours, but said the work wouldn't interfere with his duties as an MP.
How much will he earn?
As a backbench MP, Javid’s base salary is £81,932 a year.
For would-be Members of Parliament, who don’t necessarily come from wealthy backgrounds, uncertainty with finances is often one of the biggest barriers to entry.
In a Parliament that aims to replicate the makeup of the nation, family income shouldn't influence anyone considering putting themselves forward for election - and is one of the reasons why an MP’s salary is higher than normal.
While the bank haven’t revealed how much Javid would be paid for the new position, in his previous life as a banker - his salary was reportedly £3 million a year.
Is there a conflict of interest?
Some people on social media platforms have raised concerns about whether it’s right that the former leader of the country’s purse-strings now works to advise a top banking giant.
Javid isn’t the first former Chancellor to take up a role at a finance company.
Tony Blair took up a role as a senior adviser at JP Morgan in 2008 - having resigned as Prime Minister the year before.
Though others have come to his defence:
JP Morgan say no privileged information from his time in office would be shared with the company.
And Javid's new role has been approved by the UK's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which regulates new jobs for former ministers and senior civil servants.
Read more:
Cabinet reshuffle: Sajid Javid says he had 'no option' but to resign
Why has Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor in a row over his closest aides? Asks Robert Peston