London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 09, 2025

Suella Braverman ‘used loophole to claim £25,000 to pay for household bills’

Suella Braverman ‘used loophole to claim £25,000 to pay for household bills’

Gone are the days when parliamentary expenses can remain under the radar.

This is no exception even for senior Tory MPs like Suella Braverman, who is facing accusations of milking the system to get ­taxpayers to foot her £25,000 energy bill.

The home secretary has claimed for household bill allowances for five years, despite living rent-free with her parents when in her constituency of Fareham, the Mirror reports.

She has claimed up to.

Though the claims for utility payments are within parliamentary rules – MPs are allowed to claim for their main home’s bills if they do not have a second home within their constituency – this use of the benefits in this way is likely to anger the millions of people hit by the cost of living crisis.

It is ‘within the rules, but ‘it isn’t within the spirit’, Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said.

The home secretary appeared on the BBC 1 current affairs programme, Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg


The investigation by the newspaper suggests Ms Braverman uses the expenses to pay the household bills on her £1.2 million family pad in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

Former Committee on Standards in Public Life chairman Sir Alistair Graham said this looks like an attempt to ‘game the rules to maximise benefit’.

‘She says she “fully funds” her constituency accommodation but does not reveal it is owned by her parents,’ he added.

‘Those are weasel words, she needs to explain what it means. Is she manipulating the rules to strengthen her household income? It has the smell of a conspiracy to do that.’

There are also those who question why MPs who have great personal wealth can claim for expenses at all.

Being an MP is a two-centre job, and so the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority permits those representing constituencies outside the capital to fund accommodation and associated costs in a second location.

This includes energy, utilities, internet and council tax, but not MPs’ mortgages or mortgage interest.

For 2022-23, the accommodation budget is £25,080 for renting in London, and £17,840 for outside.

This is why Ms Braverman’s expense claims for her parents’ home are ‘difficult to justify’, argues Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain.

He said: ‘Even if it is within the rules, it is not within the spirit of the rules. It shows how out of touch some Conservative MPs have become.’

A source close to the senior MP, who has recently been in the news for her greatly controversial plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, would not confirm if she contributed to the costs of the house her parents Uma and Christie own.

‘The home secretary has chosen not to rent a home in her constituency for which she would be entitled to claim £17,000 a year, and therefore saving the taxpayer money,’ he said.

‘Instead, when she became MP for Fareham, she and her family made a home in her constituency so she could stay there.

‘She doesn’t claim a penny from the taxpayer on this home.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×