Rory Stewart has no idea what a low income is in shock to absolutely nobody

Former MP Rory Stewart has no idea what a low income is. The posh boy podcaster beloved of centrist dads put forward a rousing defence of impoverished – checks notes – Members of Parliament in an interview during which he wore a frankly troubling polo neck jumper.

In a hand-wavey waffle about poor MPs being easily manipulated by the wealthy (what?), Stewart told LBC:

We’ve got hundred of MPs on very low incomes, some of them very insecure, struggling to get jobs when they leave, they are perfect prey for wealthy well-connected men who can offer them board positions, invite them to parties, put them on private planes.

Here’s Rory Stewart describing MPs as being on “low incomes”.

Their basic annual salary is £93,904, putting them in the top 5% of earners.

There’s a nuanced debate to be had about MPs’ pay, but describing them as “low income” is an insult to those who really are. pic.twitter.com/2qE8fYn1sJ

— James Hanson (@jhansonradio) February 4, 2026

Okay, mate. For the record the basic MPs wage is £93,904 per year. That’s after their 2.8% pay rise from April 2025.

The average wage in the UK seems to be about £30,000. The mathematical geniuses among us will notice that that is…. quite a lot less than what MPs get paid.

It’s almost like Roderick James Nugent “Rory” Stewart – a humble Oxford educated one-time tutor to the future king of England, former army officer, and imperial governor of a province of Iraq – hasn’t got a fucking clue what he is talking about.

Roderick rides again

Stewart, born in Hong Kong to a diplomat who is said to have been a top candidate to head MI6, spent a number of years as a Tory MP.

For the 4287th time, I find myself going back to his *drum roll* voting record from those heady days.

Admittedly, I usually reach for these receipts when some centrist dad fuckwit in the pub tries to claim Stewart is a sort of sensible, moral conservative….

But any excuse to get Roderick’s voting record out is good enough for me. I have actually had it tattooed on my body so people can just read it now.

Let’s have a little look at Rory’s votes on benefits:

• Almost always voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits

• Generally voted for reducing housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (which Labour describe as the “bedroom tax”)

• Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability

• Consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices

Sounds like man who really understands the value of money on these benighted islands, doesn’t he?

How about tuition fees?:

• Consistently voted for university tuition fees

Oof…

Corporate tax?

• Almost always voted for reducing the rate of corporation tax

Oh Rory…

Climate change?

• Generally voted against measures to prevent climate change

Bloody hell, Roderick. If only the melts knew how to Google, you’d lose half the listenership on your shit podcast with war criminal Alastair Campbell.

Speaking of which, where are you on war – a very expensive and wasteful business that…

• Consistently voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system

• Consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas

Immigration? Come on Rozzer, you can pull this back from the brink.

• Tended to vote for a stricter asylum system

• Consistently voted for stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules

Well, shit. It turns out Rory is just a bog-standard Tory. Nothing more, nothing less. Rory is simply defending the well-off. Which includes MPs. And he isn’t convincing anybody otherwise. With the sole exception of your tedious Rest is Politics-obsessed Blairite uncle who likes to play devil’s advocate over things he knows nothing about in the pub.

Featured image via the Canary