UK MP earns as much from X as parliamentary salary
Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe makes £1,476 per hour from controversial posts.
1Politician's social media earnings
Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe earns £1,476 per hour from his posts on X platform. This figure is close to his MP salary. Lowe's income from X exceeded £105,000 in the first eight months of 2026. The platform's revenue sharing program pays based on content performance, allegedly incentivizing controversial political posts.
2Rapid increase in earnings
Lowe's hourly earnings from X rose from £377 on average in 2025 to £932 in 2026. Since June, his hourly rate reached £1,476. This increase is attributed to the platform's tendency to reward political content. Lowe's annual X income is expected to surpass his MP salary (£98,599).
3Platform's controversial policy
X's revenue sharing program largely rewards high-engagement content. Critics argue this system encourages divisive political messages. Elon Musk's amplification of Lowe's posts is also controversial. Experts claim X has become a mechanism pulling UK politics to the right.
4Performance of political content
Lowe's anti-immigrant posts garner millions of views. One post received 1.3 million views, 25,000 likes and 3,000 reposts. Another post praising Portugal's burqa ban got nearly a million views. These contents are promoted by the platform's algorithm and generate high income.
5Political position and platform relation
Lowe founded Restore Britain after leaving Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The party considers bringing mass deportations into mainstream politics as an achievement. Researchers argue X's financial incentive system supports far-right politicians like Lowe and shapes British politics.
6MP salary donation
Lowe stated he donates his net MP salary to charities in his Great Yarmouth constituency. The politician claims being an MP is the most expensive job he's ever had, despite his substantial X earnings from controversial content.
7International platform-politics link
Researchers like Ambrose Pym argue that a US-based billionaire simultaneously funding and boosting an ideologically aligned British politician through his own platform is strikingly under-reported. X's structure brings foreign money influence debates into UK politics.
8Platform's future plans
X recently announced upcoming changes to its revenue sharing program to reward original content and commentary. However, experts are skeptical whether these changes will solve the problem of incentivizing divisive political content. The platform's influence on political discourse continues to grow.