This Tory MP is now the director of a space sector company

Westminster can feel like a bubble, but one MP is managing to broaden his horizons by becoming the director of a space sector company.

Mark Garnier, Conservative MP for Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, is now the director of the Satellite Finance Network (SFN), a network of groups - according to its website - with a “common interest in delivering satellite and space-enabled projects to domestic and export markets around the world.”

Garnier, who has been an MP since 2010, is no stranger to the aerosphere. In 2012 he was the deputy chairman of a parliamentary group concerning space.

Meanwhile, flying closer to Earth, he has also expressed his support of using Birmingham Airport to take pressure away from Heathrow and, clearly a fan of travel in all its forms, is a staunch supporter of railway project HS2.

Aside from this, the MP was previously a junior minister in the Department for International Trade but was dismissed in 2018 after it was reported he had sent an aide to buy sex toys at his constituency office. He has also chaired a parliamentary committee on arms export controls.

The London based SFN was founded in 2013. It “aims to support the growth of the UK space industry” through attracting investment, reducing regulation in the space industry and promoting business opportunities between companies.

By 2030, the organisation aims to grow the space industry from its £9bn turnover, as at 2010, to £40bn.

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According to the register of MP’s financial interests, Garnier’s new role at the organisation is unpaid and will require one day per month commitment.

As side hustles go, this one sounds out of this world.

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