Left MP Richard Burgon today urged the Commons to ban second jobs for parliamentarians.

He introducerd a Bill to ban the widespread practice of MPs taking second jobs. While the measure is unlikely to pass without government support, it will highlight the widely condemned practice.

Mr Burgon said: “Today I’m presenting my new parliamentary Bill to ban MPs’ second jobs.

“When an MP can pocket more for a couple of hours of ‘work’ than a nurse earns in an entire year, something is deeply broken in our politics. We’re going to put a stop to this racket,” he said.

Reform boss Nigel Farage would be a big loser from the plan, since he pockets more outside earnings than any other MP from side-hustles, including promoting gold bullion and presenting on GB News.

Mr Burgon introduced a similar Bill in 2022, without success. Speaking in a Westminster debate on the issue earlier this month he said: “When Members of Parliament chase corporate cash, they are not only short-changing their constituents, but undermining our democracy. That is a very serious matter indeed.

“Trust and public confidence in politicians, Parliament and our democratic process has never been lower. We have a historic duty to turn that around.

“That means change. It means, among other things, banning the gravy train of MPs’ second jobs.”

He said he would be urging new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to back the plan. Mr Burnham is under backbench pressure to take stronger measures to protect democracy than his predecessor Keir Starmer was prepared to contemplate.