Copeland MP Trudy Harrison cost the taxpayer around £207,000 last year, new figures reveal.
Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show the Conservative MP’s total business costs for the 2020-21 financial year were £207,057.12.
The MP’s costs were up from £197,732.92 the year before, and above the average for all Members of Parliament, of £203,880.
By comparison, Darren Henry, a fellow Tory MP for Broxtowe, had costs of £280,900 last year, while Philip Hollobone, the member for Kettering, had just £80,700.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Trudy Harrison, who was elected in February 2017, spent £178,800 on office running costs in 2020-21, including £165,000 on staff wages and £13,800 on other office expenditures.
And she spent all of her accommodation budget (£21,900), and a further £6,400 on travel and subsistence.
The Copeland MP also claimed £1,238.83 to support staff to work from home during the pandemic.
The IPSA figures also reveal the 281 individual claims made by Mrs Harrison in 2020-21, with the most expensive single claim being for staff payroll – £164,956.11.
At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense the 45-year-old claimed was £1 for rail. Additional information said this was for rail booking fee.
Mrs Harrison said: “It is absolutely right that my expenses, and those of every MP, are published and open to scrutiny so taxpayers can see exactly where their money is being spent.
“My biggest expenditure is on my staff, whom I hold in the highest regard and who go above and beyond every day for our constituents.
“In terms of travel and accommodation, as an MP who lives some distance away from London, my costs are unavoidably higher than those who live in or closer to Westminster.
“The remainder of my expenses relate to everyday costs one would expect in order for myself and my team to carry out Parliamentary duties, including phone, broadband, IT and utilities for my constituency office in Bootle.
“It is clear when you view my expenses that every penny is accounted for and I keep tight control on expenditure.”
The total costs of MPs last year rose by four per cent, to £132.5 million, with almost £300,000 going on hotel claims for just 49 members.
Business costs are the essential costs incurred by MPs while carrying out their parliamentary duties including staffing, office costs and travel.
MPs cannot claim for personal costs, such as food and drink, during their normal working day, and all claims must be compliant with IPSA rules and accompanied by evidence.
The average cost of an MP was up 29 per cent, from £158,103, in 2019-20.
Kit Malthouse was the most expensive MP attending the Cabinet in 2020-21, with total costs of £244,312.
This was compared to £178,406 for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and £168,109 for Sir Keir Starmer.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s important MPs have the resources to do their jobs, but many taxpayers will be worried about the soaring cost of politics.
“The electorate expects politicians to stay grounded and keep costs under control, particularly given the Covid pandemic saw many MPs and their staff work from home.
“With taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis, politicians should be doing their utmost to keep their spending down.”
MPs’ costs are usually broken down into dozens of categories, with staff pay almost always the largest expense.
Trudy Harrison’s five largest types of costs were:
1) Payroll – costing £164,956.11
2) Rent – £17,160.00
3) Rail – £3,894.74
4) Pooled Staffing Services – £3,056.00
5) Utilities – £2,514.74
She also spent £1,238.83 on a working from home allowance.
