Region’s MPs claim £900,000
Tuesday 31st March 2009, 4:00PM BST.
MPs from the Shropshire Star’s area claimed expenses and allowances totalling more than £900,000 in 2007-08, according to House of Commons figures.
Across the whole of the country, the bill to the taxpayer for MPs claims for housing costs, office staff, communications was nearly £86.7 million at an average per MP of £134,545.
- To see local MP claims click the link at the bottom of this page
MPs from the Shropshire Star’s area claimed expenses and allowances totalling more than £900,000 in 2007-08, according to House of Commons figures.
Across the whole of the country, the bill to the taxpayer for MPs claims for housing costs, office staff, communications was nearly £86.7 million at an average per MP of £134,545.
In addition, MPs claimed another £6.2 million in travel costs at an average of £9,632. They are allowed to claim for car and rail travel between their constituencies and London, for business travel around their constituencies and for some travel within Europe and beyond.
The total bill to the taxpayer came to nearly £93 million with travel included.
The figures are published annually and were due out last October, but were delayed by a legal row over whether full receipts and invoices should be disclosed.
MPs can claim a maximum of £23,083 from the additional cost allowance – the controversial second homes payment which includes mortgage and rent, plus furniture, white goods and other items.
Most MPs treat their London homes as their second homes for these claims.
Top claimer in the Shropshire Star’s area, without travel being included, was Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik with a total of £154,898.
Second highest was Telford Labour MP David Wright with £147,323; and bottom of the table was Philip Dunne, Tory MP for Ludlow, with £128,102.
In addition, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson (£17,540), Wrekin Conservative MP Mark Pritchard (£15,076) and Daniel Kawczynski, Tory MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham (£10,561), each made above average claims for travel.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was forced to defend Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday after it emerged she had “mistakenly” claimed for two adult movies watched by her husband.
Ludlow/Bridgnorth MP Philip Dunne did not charge anything under the controversial second home allowance. He said today: “When I was first elected, I was lodging with friends and they were not charging me any rent.
“When I bought a flat, I just thought that not claiming the allowance was the right thing to do.
“I’m not sure that will continue in perpetuity, but I came into politics because of a sense of public service,” said the Tory MP.
By John Hipwood and Sunita Patel
Pages: 1 2
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That’s the hammer Lembit!
With all your work on the side as a media personality (I’d hate to use the word ‘star’….)
And with your telly appearances, what need have you of parliamentary expenses?
Not that any of the others are much better…
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this is a joke there are only quarter of a million of us in shropshire, 1 mp should do the job, we dont need 5 and we dont need to pay their travel etc, they all earn 4 times the average pay for shropshire, that should be plenty, put them on civil servants pay structure i say, with a bonus on performance, no of meetings attended etc
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The thing is they only sit 8 months of the year they have 4 months off and they dont work fridays alright for some.
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absolute outrage this must end now, we must reduce this expenditure urgently for the sake of public confidence in the system
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Things will change and change soon, The people have spoken and i would be very worried today if i was an MP ?
Goodness knows what the like’s of the late Sir John Holt & John Biffen would make of today’s goings on?
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I don’t think things will change very much or even as quickly as people think. Crucially, they always say when questioned “I have done nothing wrong” or “Its in accordance with the rules”.
That may be so, but morally it *is* wrong. And don’t they know it?!
I do think that some measure of proportionality needs to be applied though. It would not be right to expect MPs living in Shropshire or Wales (eg Mr Opik) not to be compensated in some way for living away from home whilst diligently representing the people who voted them in (and who most likely will be voting them out at the next opportunity). London is a long way away and an expensive place to live. But then isn’t everywhere these days?
They should cut their coat according to the cloth available, like we are all now having to. No one forced them into ‘public service’.
But I don’t imagine that the next crop of MPs will be much different to this lot – do you?
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These figures are astounding considering what the average person in Shropshire earns. Bring on the revolution and a general strike!
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They have all got ther noses in he trough, no MP is any better than another. Reduce the numbers to about 400 for the whole of the U.K.and make them more responsible for their actions. At present it is a downright disgrace.
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disgusting
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MPs from all parties are “at it” with Phillip Dunne being the pleasing exception to the rule when it comes to the outrageous “second home allowance”. Oh! that all MPs were the same. sadly they are not.
It is not only the “second home” outrage though, even the young children (or old for that matter) of MPs are entitled to 15 FIRST CLASS train or Business Class plane return trips to London each year. What on earth can justify this – apart from nights out at a theatre or sightseeing etc for which we as taxpayers no doubt pay for the tickets. And some would still try to justify it as would Gordon Brown who supports his Home Secretary, Jaqui Smith. Had this been Cameron, there would now be a new Home Secretary, he is a ruthless man and Brown needs to take a leaf out of his book. Every Conservative MP who has crossed Cameron so far has been sacked, Derek Conway lasted one day after his peccadillo’s came out.
Another abuse is the seeming House of Commons “protection” of MPs which makes them immune to Police investigation or process in relation to the claiming of expences etc. The internal, totally innefective monitoring and “discipline” procedures for MPs must be ended and they must be subject to automatic reporting to Police and the legal process that naturally follows following a complaint being made against any one of them for abusing the payments/expences aspect.
The “conditions of service” of MPs is an insult and an affront to each and every one of us. The gravy train must radically and ruthlessly be ended.
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I think we should outsource our government overseas – could be done much cheaper!
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SICKENS ME
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The country is ripe for revolution!
Enough is enough, but they just don’t get it!
Bliar and Clown and Mandy what a crew
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Bring back Derek Conway , and hey, his family and pets too! (Plus a chef) and probably his own anti abuse team. Seems like an absolute bargain. I always thought british politicians were the best money could buy. What about some radical overhaul, like a transfer market? I’m thinking pro western taliban perhaps? I mean, if you get caught, you know whats coming.
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senior civil servants, judges etc get 1.5% increase in pay, mp’s ah ha 2.3% increase. 1 rule for mp’s 1 rule for others. i think 1 mp for shropshire is pushing it. i suggest 1 for shrewsbury and n. shropshire and 1 for south shropshire plus 1 for telford, all on a flat salary of £92k including expenses, then we would find out who wants to do a service for our county
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Some MP’s undoubtedly have their snouts in the trough. I am in no way proporting MP’s should be spending this much, but if MP numbers where slashed, the above commenters would be the first to moan if the Parliamentary system failed them due to lack of members and representation. The scapegoating culture of lynching reigns again
I’d certainly want about that wage to put up with the misinformed vitriol from such constituents
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If you want the best you have to pay for it.
Unfortunately none of the ones I’ve seen come in that category.
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PAULO – I’m onto you. A man of few words!
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I think its particularly appalling when M.Ps claim for a second home when both homes are within 20 miles of London – how can that be allowed??
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I cant help but think that all these mortgages the tax payer is funding could be sold and help to pay off some of the massive debt we are now all in. They are surely now taxpayer property?
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Maybe I should ask my employer to pay for my expenses travelling to work. Also, ask them if they would fund me in purchasing Sky tv. Also, if I am caught stealing maybe my employer would turn a blind eye and not prosecute or sack me. What are my chances?
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all shropshire mp’s have agreed to donate £25,000 each to charity. official news release 11.59
01.04.09!!
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92 k is too much, they should be on the same salary as a middle manager in civil service ca 40k pa
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bang out of order, let them eat cake
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50 grand a year would be a fair take home for this line of work, no more
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sack them all now
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errrrrrr just how do you become an MP :-)
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and why do they have parliament in london. why not manchester or birmingam, even shrowsbury as most medieval kings held court in shrowsbury.
if you only pay them 40k and no expenses, we shall be back to rotten boroughs. they must have secretaries and travel expenses. perhaps they should live close to parliament and claim once a month for a visit to their constituency
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so unfair, i’m on £6.12 an hour, i struggle to pay rent each month and im worried about my job
i’d kill for half of their stationary budget
we may as well go back to the aristocrats running things, only millionaires need apply
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capt chaos,
anyone can run for MP, as long as you have, £500 deposit, plenty of support and around £50 for a campaign.
Democracy is only for those that can afford it. A display of the class divide.
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our conservative mps are good value, in rural shropshire of course transport allowances are high, it is the Labour lot in London who still have second homes who are the real bad guys
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