Esther McVey has been reminded of comments she made last year after it was revealed that she is using taxpayers’ money to rent a London property – despite owning another one just down the road.
The recently appointed Minister for Common Sense waged a so-called ‘war on woke’ in December 2019 with a plan to save taxpayer cash and end waste spending.
Writing in the Daily Mail, she said residents in her Tatton constituency regularly tell her they are “sick of having to tighten the family’s purse strings when they see public purse strings getting looser and looser”.
She added: “That’s why I’m beginning my own investigations to help root out the waste and unnecessary bureaucracy that plagues too much of the public sector.”
But McVey conveniently overlooked the fact that she and her husband Philip Davies, who is also a Tory MP, are using taxpayers’ money to rent a London property, even though they own one just a mile away.
Campaign group Led By Donkeys released a social media video on Thursday claiming that the couple are claiming £3,200 a month through parliamentary expenses to rent in the capital.
But Davies owns a flat in Westminster which is, according to Led By Donkeys and the Daily Telegraph, just a “short walk” from the House of Commons where they both work.
He reportedly purchased it in 2005 shortly after being elected. He used taxpayer’s money for his mortgage for the first seven years, which was permitted prior to the 2009 expenses scandal.
But, the parliamentary rules were changed the IPSA (independent parliamentary standards authority).
It meant Davies could no longer claim mortgage interest on the property he owns if he and McVey, the minister for common sense, still lived there.
They now rent that place out for unspecified amount and rent a different flat a short distance away – and they can claim that rental expense back.
According to Led By Donkeys, it works out to more than £3,200 in rent per month.
“Our analysis shows that since 2017, the couple have claimed some £250,000 in taxpayers’ money to fund their living costs,” the campaign group said.
This does not breach any parliamentary rules, because both McVey and Davies are MPs with constituencies more than an hour from London so can claim expenses when staying in the capital.
Go figure!