George Osborne earns £500,000 from giving after-dinner speeches

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer has begun a lucrative career outside of Westminster

The former Chancellor is launching a think-tank to promote the Northern Powerhouse after being moved to the back benches in Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle (Getty)

The privileges enjoyed by the political establishment do not stop when they are no longer leading figures within it.

Instead, politicians have the rarest of careers, where getting sacked proves more lucrative than being in the job.

George Osborne has raked in £500,000 from delivering after-dinner speeches since being ejected from his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

In November, it was revealed Osborne had earned more than £320,000 from delivering speeches in the US.

He is already paid a handsome salary of £74,962 for being an MP, but this pales in comparison to the earnings he can make from giving speeches. In September, he earned just short of his annual salary in less than two hours, with Parliamentary records showing he is set to receive a payment of £69,992 from The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

No wonder David Cameron is so eager to follow in his footsteps with his own speaking career after resigning as both Prime Minister and an MP.

Mr Osborne told The Independent: “All information is disclosed, as required, in the register of members’ interests. It is quite right that, as a Member of the House of Commons, any income I receive is declared. That is what I have done and will continue to do so.”