A Conservative MP who said food bank users “can’t cook” and “can’t budget” claimed £220,000 in expenses in one year alone, IPSA figures show.
Ashfield MP Lee Anderson provoked outrage yesterday after he invited “everybody” on the opposition benches in the House of Commons to visit a food bank in Ashfield, Notts, where, when people come for a food parcel, they now need to register for a “budgeting course” and a “cooking course”.
He claimed food bank users in his constituency are shown how to cook meals for “about 30 pence a day”.
When asked by a Labour MP if it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, Anderson said there is not “this massive use for food banks” in the UK, but “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”.
According to IPSA data, Anderson claimed £219,703.44 as business costs from 2020 to 2021 — bringing his office, staffing, accommodation, travel and subsistence claims higher than the average £203,880 claimed by MPs.
His biggest cost was on staffing at £165,215.27, followed by £33,144.30 on office costs and £17,650.60 on accommodation. And he spent £67.57 on hospitality.
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