The air in the Royal Courts of Justice always feels a few degrees cooler than the London streets outside, heavy with the scent of old floor wax and even older statutes. Last October, I watched from the gallery as David Lammy was sworn in as the Lord Chancellor. It’s a role that dates back nearly a millennium, but as Lammy adjusted his robes, the conversation in the press box wasn’t about history. It was about the mortgage-sized salary that comes with being the first person of colour to hold the position.
I’ve spent fifteen years tracking the financial disclosures of Westminster’s elite, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that “power” and “pay” have a very complicated relationship in the UK. People see the titles—Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary, Lord Chancellor—and they assume the bank account is overflowing. But once you factor in the “lost” earnings from his days on the backbenches, the reality of how much does David Lammy earn in 2026 is actually a story of a massive career pivot.
The Breakdown: Two Jobs, One Taxpayer
In the British system, a Cabinet Minister doesn’t just get a single lump sum. It’s a tiered cake. First, you have the base layer: the MP salary. As of February 2026, following the latest IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) adjustments, every MP picks up roughly £94,000. Then comes the ministerial “top-up.” For a Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister, this additional payment is significant.
While some ministers in the past have waived portions of their pay to appear “in it with the public,” the standard combined entitlement for a top-tier Cabinet role now sits between £160,000 and £172,000. Look, compared to the average UK wage, that’s a king’s ransom. But in the world of high-flying barristers and media personalities—both of which Lammy was before his promotion—it’s actually quite modest.
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The £100,000 Radio Silence
The most fascinating part of Lammy’s financial journey isn’t what he’s earning now but what he had to give up. Back in 2023 and early 2024, the Register of Members’ Financial Interests read like a high-end portfolio. His regular slot on LBC Radio was worth about £99,300 a year. Add into that the five-figure sums he’d earn from keynote speeches and book royalties, and there’s scant doubt that Lammy would be comfortably out-earning the PM while sitting on the opposition benches.
When he took the seals of office as foreign secretary in July 2024 (before shuffling to Justice in September 2025), that tap was turned off. This is embedded in the Ministerial Code: you cannot be a member of the Cabinet and have a paid media job. He traded the freedom of the airwaves for the constraints of the Cabinet Office. For a man who was used to an extra six figures of “side hustle” money, the move to Deputy PM was technically a significant pay cut in total annual income.
The “Spurs” Factor and Passive Income
So, is he purely living on his government cheque? Not quite. Like any savvy professional nearing their mid-fifties, Lammy has built up some resilient secondary streams that the Ministerial Code allows him to keep:
- Rental Income: He remains the landlord of a residential property in his Tottenham constituency. In a London rental market that’s currently on fire, that’s a steady, registrable earner.
- Literary Royalties: His books, Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots and Tribes, still bring in royalties, though without the promotional tours, these are likely four-figure trickles rather than floods.
- The Non-Practising Barrister: While he is the Lord Chancellor—effectively the head of the judiciary—he obviously isn’t taking on private clients at the Bar. His legal expertise is now a tool of state, not a source of billable hours.
The crazy part about tracking how much does David Lammy earn is seeing how the “perks” are handled. In 2025, he declared hospitality from Tottenham Hotspur FC valued at £750 for a match he attended with the Indian Foreign Minister. But here’s the human touch that makes a difference in public trust: he immediately made a £250 donation to the club’s charitable foundation to offset the “gift.” It’s that kind of optics management that defines modern political survival.
Why Transparency Matters in 2026
We’re living through the “Digital Voice” era of government. Every expense, from a £15 “dongle” for a laptop to a business class flight to Washington, is scrutinised by sites like TheyWorkForYou and Full Fact. Just last month, a viral post claimed Lammy had personally spent £500,000 on “food and drink” while at the Foreign Office. It was total nonsense, of course—that figure was the entire department’s hospitality spend across 280 global offices—but it shows how hungry the public is for financial “gotcha” moments. Anyway, the truth is more boring but more important.
David Lammy is currently one of the best-paid public servants in the country, but he is also a man who has had to liquidate his private sector earning potential to serve in the Cabinet. Whether you agree with his politics or not, the 2026 salary of the Deputy Prime Minister represents a very specific kind of professional trade-off. The next time you hear a “wonky” rumour about a politician’s secret millions, remember that in the age of the fortnightly-updated Register of Interests, the real story is usually right there in black and white. So, do you think £165,000 is a fair price for the person running our justice system, or is it time we tied MP pay to something more “real world”, like the average nurse’s salary?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does David Lammy still host his show on LBC?
No, he had to pack that in the moment he became a Minister. The rules are pretty strict about “outside jobs” for people in the Cabinet, so that £100k-a-year radio income is now a thing of the past for him.
How is a Deputy Prime Minister’s pay actually decided?
It’s a bit of a mix. He gets the standard MP salary that every politician in the House receives, plus an extra “ministerial top-up” because of his heavy-duty roles in Justice and the Cabinet.
Can he still earn money from his books while in government?
Yes, he’s allowed to keep royalties from books he’s already written, like Tribes. Since that’s “passive” income rather than a new job, it doesn’t clash with his duties as Lord Chancellor.
Who keeps track of what he spends and earns?
A few different watchdogs, actually. IPSA handles his basic pay and office costs, while the Register of Members’ Financial Interests is where he has to list every gift or penny he earns outside of his main salary.
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Sources & References
- IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority): Official MP Salary Scales for 2025/26
- UK Parliament: Register of Members’ Financial Interests – Mr David Lammy
- Gov.uk: List of Ministers’ Interests: January 2026 Update
- TheyWorkForYou: David Lammy MP – Voting Record and Declared Income
- The Guardian: Analysis of Cabinet Rental Income and Property Interests
- The Guardian: UK Government to Crack Down on MPs’ Media Earnings: This January 2025 report explicitly names David Lammy as Labour’s highest-paid MP in opposition, specifically citing the £99,300 figure from his LBC show.
