#ScrapMPsExpenses is now spreading across Twitter
As energy bills are predicted to reach over £5,000 a year by 2023, the latest figures on MPs expenses and how they can claim back in gas and electric usage has left Brits outraged.
First reported by Open Democracy back in April this year, the estimated figure MPs are said to have collectively claimed on their energy bills is more than £420,000 since 2019.
Now this number is once again circulating online, people are understandably furious.
While millions of people are struggling to pay their energy bills, MPs have claimed £420,000 of taxpayers money to heat their second homes since 2019. They are taking the piss out of us. #energybills #CostOfLivingCrisis
— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) August 11, 2022
Still don’t comprehend how they are allowed to claim for half the things they claim for..every normal employee has to budget for such things out of their wage…🤬🤬🤬
— Alyson Leitch (@Geordiesbird) August 11, 2022
While most people have already had to come to terms with elected officials being able to claim expenses for all manner of things thanks to their political privileges, for many this is the first time they are hearing that something as simple as their monthly gas and electric bills can be claimed back.
As a result, the hashtag #ScrapMPsExpenses is now spreading its way across Twitter.
Considering that millions of people are struggling to pay for food, travel, fuel and energy, we should not also be paying for our MPs food, travel, fuel and energy expenses on top of paying their salaries. Taxpayer funded MPs should pay for their own expenses.#ScrapMPsExpenses
— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) August 10, 2022
As alluded to above, this resurgent revelation comes just a day after Tory Mark Spencer urged the general public and UK media not to “scaremonger” over rising energy costs and the wider cost of living crisis.
We probably wouldn’t be worried if we could claim our bills back either.
The leader of the House of Commons urged people not to 'scaremonger' over the cost of living crisishttps://t.co/aIoJMrxr8A
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) August 11, 2022
Spencer was grilled after Good Morning Britain presenter Adil Ray quizzed the Leader of the House of Commons on MPs being able to claim expenses on their energy usage if they have a second home so long as it is located outside of London. All of this while the everyday public are struggling to pay one set of bills, never mind two.
According to the self-explanatory website MPs Expenses, UK MPs are said to have claimed a whopping £132,159,995.91 for a total of 117,258 different items between February 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022.
Brendan Clarke-Smith of Bassetlaw is thought to have expensed the most with £267,512.51 to his name, while the least amount claimed back was by Eastleigh MP, Mims Davies, who hasn’t taken so much as a penny back over that period.
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