Aylesbury Vale MPs spent five figures on expenses to run their offices in 2023

From pizza to PR firms, Buckinghamshire’s MPs have spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash so far this financial year.

The expenses that help MPs run their offices are available to view on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) website.

These business costs are completely separate to the donations, gifts and hospitality that MPs also receive.

MP Sarah Green’s office has claimed more than £45,000 in business costs over the last year, more than triple most of her fellow Buckinghamshire MPs.

Around half of the Liberal Democrat MP for Chesham and Amersham’s business costs in 2023/24 were with Midas Training Solutions to help run her office.

The Princes Risborough-based firm says it offers clients an ‘A to Z’ of training on everything from lobbying skills to crisis management and even securing media coverage.

Green’s other notable expenses include £6,040 on hotels in London, £398 on Ikea office furniture and £159 for a TV licence.

A spokesperson for the MP said: “It is inaccurate to add these figures in this way and claim they are Sarah’s personal expenses.

“These include staffing and office costs, which are key to Sarah’s duties as an MP delivering for people in Chesham and Amersham.”

Most of the UK’s 650 MPs are based outside London and travel into the capital to from their constituencies to attend meetings, debates and votes. IPSA’s cap on London hotel prices is £210 per night.

After Green, Ben Everitt has registered the next highest business costs of the MPs in Buckinghamshire during this financial year.

The Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North has claimed more than £23,000, including £11,400 on rented accommodation.

Everitt told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I have a flat in London and all of my expenses are approved by IPSA who ensure public money is spent appropriately by Members of Parliament.”

The offices of Tory MPs Steve Baker (Wycombe) and Rob Butler (Aylesbury) have been the cheapest to run of the Bucks MPs, registering around £11,000 and £10,000 respectively so far this year.

Greg Smith’s office is just ahead of them, with almost £13,000 claimed in business expenses in 2023/24.

The Tory MP for Buckingham said he aimed to provide the “best possible service to my constituents at the cheapest possible cost” and claimed he was “consistently among the lowest spending MPs in Buckinghamshire”.

The Tory MP for Milton Keynes South Iain Stewart has registered £7,845 on London hotels so far this year, as well as £1,970 on stationery and printing.

Meanwhile, Joy Morrissey’s office has registered £15,000 in business costs so far this year, including more than £5,000 for ‘Millbank Creative’.

The public relations agency, used by a string of MPs, says it can build a politician’s “personal brand” and boost “incumbency” by increasing their name recognition.

Asked about her use of the PR firm, the Conservative MP for Beaconsfield said: “It is a low-cost service used by a number of MPs as it is better value for taxpayers than hiring staff.”

She also said her office’s spending with UK Fingerprints and Dominos Pizza related to a visa process for an overseas student and a voluntary programme.

The MP claimed she “personally repaid” food expenses from the programme, which she was “delighted” to support.

The pizzas were not for her or staff but for young people from “economically disadvantaged backgrounds” taking part in a parliamentary internship, she said.