Gedling MP will stop taking money for second jobs as he drops one of them

Gedling's MP has dropped one of his secondary jobs and says he will no longer take any money for any of his local government roles. Michael Payne, elected as the Labour MP for Gedling at the July general election, is also a member of Gedling Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council.

At the time of his election, Mr Payne also served as the deputy leader at Gedling, as well as the chair of Nottinghamshire's fire authority and the chair of the board of trustees at the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU). Mr Payne has now confirmed he has resigned as the deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, which is led by Councillor John Clarke.

The Gedling MP has also stepped back from his role with the LGIU and will stand down as fire authority chair before the end of the year. Mr Payne says he will not trigger a by-election by stepping down from the county council, given that the next election for that authority is only in May 2025.

In terms of his borough councillor role, Mr Payne says he eventually intends to step down from that authority, where the next elections are not due until 2027. There is no firm date on when this will take place yet as the Gedling MP says proper transitional arrangements have to be considered.

Yet although remaining on the Nottinghamshire fire authority, Nottinghamshire County Council and as a backbencher on Gedling Borough Council for now, Mr Payne says he will no longer take any money for those extra roles.

The fire authority roles previously earned Mr Payne over £29,000 a year. The MP also received £16,512 a year for his role as a county councillor and £17,620 a year for his role as a member and deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council.

Mr Payne said: "On Monday 14 October 2024 I stood down as Deputy Leader of Gedling Borough Council after more than 13 years proudly serving my hometown. I am receiving no allowances or payments for my roles as Nottinghamshire County Councillor, Gedling Borough Councillor and Chair of the Fire Authority.

"I am carrying out these roles on an entirely voluntary basis, at no cost to the taxpayer. I am currently putting arrangements in place to stand down from my role as Chair of the Fire Authority before the end of the year.

"My sole and full-time focus has only ever been on standing up for the people I represent in my hometown of Gedling. I'll continue to do that as their Member of Parliament."

Mr Payne was first elected to Gedling Borough Council following elections in May 2011. Three other Nottinghamshire Labour MPs also have secondary roles at local councils, which all of them say they will eventually step back from.