Scottish MPs panned over up to £3500-a-month taxpayer-funded homes

The National

2 days ago

Tenants union Living Rent have branded it 'shocking'.
According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data, Scottish Labour MP for Glasgow East John Grady is spending the most on rent at £3500 a month.
His fellow Scottish Labour colleague, Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, is paying (and expensing) a hefty £3350 a month.
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Meanwhile, Scottish Labour MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow Kirsteen Sullivan is paying £3250 a month.
Rounding out the top five are Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill and SNP MP Kirsty Blackman on £3200 a month.
(Image: Image of John Grady by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)MPs are allowed to expense the costs of a second property to either have a base in their constituency or somewhere to stay when they travel to parliament, if their seat is outside of London. They can also claim up to £230 a night for hotel stays.
But Aditi Jehangir, the chair of Living Rent, hit out at the amounts some are claiming.
The average rent in London for a one-bedroom flat is £1500 according to the City of London, although that can vary depending on which borough.
Although, even for the most prestigious areas in London, including Westminster, the average still sits around £2500 a month.
Properties you can rent in London for £3500 a month include a 'stylish Manhattan-inspired apartment' near Waterloo station.
According to the listing, it offers a "luxurious lifestyle with hotel-like amenities", including a 20-metre swimming pool, private screening room, executive lounge, golf simulator, wine cellar and thermal suite facilities.
It could also secure a 'very spacious' four bedroom apartment in a mansion block close to the O2.
"It's shocking to see Scottish MPs spending so much of taxpayers' money on renting second homes for themselves, while refusing to support rent controls for their constituents,' Jehangir told The National.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
'Rents across the UK are skyrocketing to extreme, unaffordable levels, plunging tenants into poverty and pushing us out of our homes.'
She added: 'Rather than fighting for a system that works for everyone, they are happy to claim back thousands of pounds in expenses and fob tenants off with distant promises of new builds instead of reigning in landlords' profits.
'MPs pay lip service to the housing crisis, but when it comes to their own expensive rents, it is taxpayers who foot the bill."
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: 'It is right that the rules around MPs' expenses are set and administered independently by the Parliamentary watchdog Ipsa. All claims have been made in line with Ipsa rules."
The lowest claimants, in terms of rent at least, include Scottish Labour MPs Melanie Ward and Gordon McKee, who claimed £680 and £1365 a month respectively.