Overview:
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The total spend of members of parliament was £132.5 million in the 2020-21 financial year according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). This was a 4.6 per cent increase on the £126.7 million spent in 2019-20.
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Britain’s most expensive MP was the member for Broxtowe, Darren Henry, with total spending of £280,936. This compares to the least expensive MP which was the member for Kettering, Philip Hollobone, spending £80,709.
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The average cost of an MP was £203,880 in 2020-21, a 29.2 per cent increase from the average £157,747 spent in 2019-20. In 2019-20, the speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had the largest total spend for a sitting MP at £259,057. In 2020-21, he cost the taxpayer £182,584.
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Kit Malthouse was the most expensive MP attending the cabinet in 2020-21, with total costs of £244,312. This was compared to £178,406 for prime minister Boris Johnson and £168,109 for Sir Keir Starmer.
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Expenses for travel and subsistence claims cost the taxpayer a total of £2,052,140 in 2020-21, an average of £3,157 for each member of parliament. The total fell by 63.3 per cent during the pandemic, from the £5,584,790 spent in 2019-20.
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A total of £283,361 was spent on hotel claims by 49 members of parliament in 2020-21, as part of the MPs’ accommodation budget.
- For much of 2020-21 as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, members were not obliged to travel to Westminster and could participate remotely. This would impact some MPs’ spending especially with regard to travel and subsistence.