- ONE TORY MP APPEARS TO HAVE CLAIMED £160 FOR A NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION
- THERE IS GROWING OUTRAGE AT DECISION NOT TO PROVIDE FREE SCHOOL MEALS FOR CHILDREN IN ENGLAND
Fourteen Conservative MPs in Wales racked up an expenses bill of over £500,000 in less than a year before voting to stop children in England receiving free school meals over the school holidays.
From the period June 2019 to May 2020, some MPs claimed over £50,000 off the taxpayer while many of the MPs on the list only started claiming after they won election last December, making the time period even shorter. All data is available on the MPs Expenses website.
The Tories are currently under pressure to continue the provision to feed children in poverty during half term and the Christmas holidays in England.
The Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford – who experienced poverty induced hunger as a child – has led a campaign to force the government into a U turn over its decision not to continue free school meals.
Last week Labour tabled an opposition motion in parliament to compel Boris Johnson to change course, but it was defeated by 61 votes. There has been growing anger in Wales at the 13 Tory MPs who voted against the motion, because they are denying children in England the same provision that those in Wales receive.
Some businesses such as pubs and cafes in Wales have decided to ban their local Tory MP ‘for life’ in reaction against the treatment of children growing up in poverty.
In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland governments have all said meals in holidays will be provided, although anti-poverty campaigners say half of children at risk of hunger will still miss out.
Only one Tory MP in Wales – Stephen Crabb – didn’t vote against the motion but his vote was not recorded, meaning he wasn’t available and there’s no indication that he would have voted differently to other Welsh Tories had he been present.
The scale of the expenses bill will shock many people in Wales who face pandemic poverty. The size of the overall claim- including for items such as new office furniture – smacks of hypocrisy while Tories are denying vulnerable children meals.
MPs have many valid reasons to claim expenses, such as office costs and staffing, but the size of some of the claims raises serious questions.
Former Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns put more than £52,000 on his expenses bill in just 11 months, which includes over £2,700 on using Royal Mail’s door-to-door delivery service. David Jones, MP for Clwyd West, claimed over £55,000 in total but that also includes an annual subscription to the Daily Telegraph, costing £160.
