In 2009, the expenses scandal exposed what politicians had been claiming and a kind of wholesale wrongdoing in parliament. More than 15 years on, it appears little has changed, with an estimated two-thirds of MPs engaged in huge claims. This time, the Canary has uncovered that MPs on both sides of the House have been submitting huge claims on staffing, office, and accommodation expenses on what appears to be an industrial scale, and have been doing so for some time.
MP expenses scandal: 15 years later, nothing has changed
A significant number have been claiming remarkably similar amounts – as close to the maximum allowed as possible – regardless of where they are in the country, where they live, how many people they employ, or even whether they have an office outside parliament. Further, a survey of property prices reveals that a significant number are claiming amounts that bear no relation to commercial rates in their constituencies.
For example, after replacing Mike Gapes, Ilford South MP, Sam Tarry’s staffing expenses went from £31,000 in his first year in office to £236,000 in 2022-2023, before he was deselected and replaced by councillor Jas Athwal. Yet he had only one registered member of staff, and his registered office address was in use as a women’s drop-in centre. It has since been converted into a women’s gym.
IPSA says…
The Canary also contacted IPSA about changes to the way its register displays expenses. Previously, it would list cost claims by line item. When contacted, an IPSA spokesman said:
Following advice from security experts, any travel costs are now published in an aggregated form for each MP in our Annual Publication.
The spokesman also said that the changes were implemented in November 2023. However, it’s not clear why this was seen as a greater risk in 2023 than previously, or why this is seen as a “risk” for some MPs but not others. The new listing, however, makes it more challenging to identify potential fraud.
Alongside Ilford North MP Wes Streeting and Islington South & Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry, McDonagh was also one of three who have claimed more in staffing and office costs than prime minister Keir Starmer.
Since becoming Health Minister in 2024, Streeting has now accepted £53,000 in donations towards staffing costs from Peter Hearn’s OPD Group, among others. Earlier this year, the Good Law Project reported that Streeting had been “raking in” support from companies and private individuals to the tune of £10,000 a month on average.
When Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022, all the members of his first Cabinet claimed more in staffing costs than he did, with the then deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, claiming the most—over £240,000.
Friends of Israel MPs are twice as likely to make extortionate claims
Furthermore, both Tory and Labour Friends of Israel were more than twice as likely to make massive claims. Some 80% of Tories belong to Conservative Friends of Israel.
Of 55 MPs listed as members of Labour Friends of Israel, 44 (80%) claimed more than £200,000 in staffing costs from 2023-2024. In the same year, 47 (85.5%) claimed more than £20,000 in office costs. 23 (42%) claimed more than £20,000 in accommodation costs.
Some of the biggest accommodation payouts went to the following MPs:
- MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, Preet Gill £37,042
- MP for Birmingham, Yardley Jess Phillips £34,099
- MP for Bristol Northwest Darren Jones £32,768
- MP for Barnsley North Dan Jarvis £32,248
Meanwhile, the MPs claiming some of the largest amounts in staffing costs included:
- MP for Islington South & Finsbury Emily Thornberry £252,957
- MP for Putney Fleur Anderson £252,789
- MP for Mitcham & Morden Siobhain McDonagh £252,576
- MP for Harrow West Gareth Thomas £252,533
- MP for Ilford North Wes Streeting £252,415
Finally, among the MPs claiming the some of the highest amounts in office costs were:
- MP for Mitcham & Morden Siobhain McDonagh £35,129
- MP for Tottenham David Lammy £33,728
- MP for Islington South & Finsbury Emily Thornberry £32,541
- MP for Ealing & Southall Virendra Sharma £32,141
- MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill & Solihull Liam Byrne £31,315
- MP for Ilford North Wes Streeting £31,247
- MP for Bridgend Chris Elmore £30,344
Sharma stood down before the last election.
Some of the biggest expense claimers respond
The Canary contacted each of the above MPs to ask them why their expenses were so high for this period.
Siobhan McDonagh MP came back and said that:
All of my expenses are made in full compliance with IPSA’s rules and are published in full on the IPSA website.
The figures cited reflect the reality that London MPs face higher office rents and staffing costs due to London weighting and the overall cost of operating in the capital. These costs are necessary to run a fully staffed constituency office that supports thousands of local residents every year.
A spokesperson for Dan Jarvis MP responded that:
Anything Mr Jarvis has ever claimed has been entirely in accordance with IPSA’s rules.
As a Yorkshire-based MP, Mr Jarvis rents accommodation in London to allow him to fulfil his duties as an MP.
MPs with children under the age of 18 receive additional accommodation allowances.
In the financial year 23/24, Mr Jarvis underspent the accommodation budget available to him.
Gareth Thomas MP said:
During 2023/24, a senior member of my office was on long term sickness leave due to serious illness. A temporary member of staff was recruited to cover her role. Thankfully, she has now recovered and returned to work.
The Canary did not hear from any further MPs by the deadline for comment.
Self-serving political class still at it in 2025
After an investigation in 2009, 392 politicians were ordered to pay £1.3m of misclaimed expenses. Famously, Tory MP Peter Viggers was forced to apologise after claiming for a duck house in his garden pond.
As he stood down from his Gosport seat, he said:
I have made a ridiculous and grave error of judgment. I am ashamed, and I apologise.
But the fallout after the scandal was such that several MPs did not contest their seats in the following election. Meanwhile, seven parliamentarians were sent to jail for false accounting, some of it mortgage fraud.
This time around, the scale of the potential mis-or-over claiming and the length of time this has been allowed to go on suggest something much worse. With potentially tens of millions of pounds involved, it’s not clear how MPs will repay the money without divesting of all their assets to avoid criminal proceedings – if, of course, any of these claims are fraudulent. An apology is unlikely to cut the mustard with an already beleaguered public, angry at what they perceive as another wholesale failure of a self-serving political class that sees itself as above the law.
In 2009, The Telegraph’s six-week expose on MPs’ expenses touched a public nerve, and the scandal dominated the media headlines with reports of claims for toilet seats, trouser presses, and even HobNobs.
At the time, William Lewis, editor-in-chief of the Telegraph, said:
The chance to make radical reforms to our political institutions and how they operate was glaringly (and deliberately) overlooked. The legacy of that missed opportunity is now evident.
It seems that still, little has changed.
All figures in this article were correct at the time of writing.
Featured image via the Canary
