Austin Mitchell (Lab, Great Grimsby)
Claims included 67p for Ginger Crinkle biscuits and 68p for a jar of Branston Pickle.
Tim Yeo (Con, South Suffolk)
Claimed £905.95 for a pink Sony Vaio laptop in November 2007. When his claim was disclosed Mr Yeo responded: ‘A laptop is a laptop whatever colour it is. This is a trivial point.’
Peter Luff (Con, Mid Worcestershire)
Claimed £17,000 on his parliamentary expenses for furniture, linen and electrical goods over four years. This included three lavatory seats, three food mixers, two microwaves and ten sets of bed linen.
Andrew Smith (Lab, Oxford East)
Claimed a 50p carrier bag from Ikea as part of the £34,000 of expenses he used to renovate his house.
Charles Kennedy (Lib Dem, Ross, Skye & Lochaber) Claimed back £35.75 spent in the House of Commons gift shop on three boxes of mints and two cuddly toys.
David Heathcoat-Amory (Con, Wells)
Between 2004 and 2007 claimed a total of £388.80 for horse manure for the garden of his second home.
John Gummer (Con, Suffolk Coastal)
The tax payer was billed more than £100 a year to remove moles from John Gummer’s estate, as part of more than £9,000 a year for gardening.
The Saints
The twenty-nine MPs who made no expenses claims
Adam Afriyie (Con, Windsor)
Lives twenty-seven miles from Westminster and has never made a claim under the additional costs allowance for a second home, commuting every day instead.
Richard Benyon (Con, Newbury)
A former soldier, Richard Benyon has not made a single claim since 2006.
Tom Brake (Lib Dem, Carshalton & Wallington)
An MP since 1997, Tom Brake chose not to claim any money under the second home allowance. In 2005 he complained about excessive mileage claims submitted by some MPs.
David Burrowes (Con, Enfield Southgate)
An outer London MP who could have claimed more than £23,000 in second home allowances, but chose not to. Instead he called for its abolition for outer London MPs.
Paul Burstow (Lib Dem, Sutton & Cheam)
Outer London Lib Dem chief whip who chose not to claim the second home allowance he was entitled to.
Vince Cable (Lib Dem, Twickenham)
The Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman chooses not to claim the second home allowance for his outer London constituency, instead commuting by train to Westminster.
Ed Davey (Lib Dem, Kingston & Surbiton)
One of seven Lib Dem MPs representing outer London who chose not to claim second home allowance.
Iain Duncan Smith (Con, Chingford & Woodford Green) The former Conservative leader stopped claiming additional costs allowance in 2007. Prior to this his ACA claims totalled £2,949, making him one of the lowest claiming MPs.
Philip Dunne (Con, Ludlow)
Philip Dunne, one of the co-founders of Ottaker’s bookshops, has claimed nothing at all under the additional costs allowance since he was elected in 2005.
David Evennett (Con, Bexleyheath & Crayford)
The former schoolmaster and insurance broker chose not to claim second home allowance for his outer London constituency.
Lynne Featherstone (Lib Dem, Hornsey & Wood Green) Along with other Lib Dem outer London MPs, Lynne Featherstone chose not to claim any additional cost allowances, and instead commuted from her constituency home.
Neil Gerrard (Lab, Walthamstow)
Oxford-educated MP who chose not to claim second home allowance.
Stephen Hammond (Con, Wimbledon)
Stephen Hammond has never claimed additional cost allowances since he became an MP in 2005.
David Howarth (Lib Dem, Cambridge)
Despite living sixty miles from Parliament, David Howarth has not made any second home allowance claims, and insists on commuting from his constituency home every night.
Nick Hurd (Con, Ruislip-Northwood)
Although Nick Hurd has a second property in his constituency, he does not claim an allowance for it. He says that as he does not live there, he feels he should not charge the taxpayer for it.
Susan Kramer (Lib Dem, Richmond Park)
Susan Kramer did not claim the additional cost allowance she was entitled to, and was one of the MPs who championed the abolition of the second home allowance for all MPs living in Greater London.
Siobhain McDonagh (Lab, Mitcham & Morden)
Does not claim any money under the second homes allowance, and writes on her website ‘I do not claim anything at all for my mortgage, property maintenance, furniture or food. I pay all these myself’.
John McDonnell (Lab, Hayes & Harlington)
As MP for a constituency on the edge of London, John McDonnell could claim for a second home but chooses not to.
Anne Milton (Con, Guildford)
Although her constituency residence in Surrey is more than thirty miles from Westminster, Anne Milton does not claim money under the second homes allowance.
Stephen Pound (Lab, Ealing North)
As an outer London MP, he could have claimed for the second home allowance but chose not to.
John Randall (Con, Uxbridge)
John Randall is another outer London MP who was entitled to a second home allowance but decided not to claim or buy a second property.
Geoffrey Robinson (Lab, Coventry North West)
Millionaire Geoffrey Robinson has more than one property but does not charge the taxpayer for their upkeep.
Martin Salter (Lab, Reading West)
The MP refuses to have a second home in London despite living fifty miles from Westminster.
Lee Scott (Con, Ilford North)
Outer London MP who has claimed nothing on his second home allowance even though he is entitled to do so.
Virendra Kumar Sharma (Lab, Ealing Southall)
A former bus conductor, this MP chose not to claim any second home allowances, even though he was entitled to do so.
Sarah Teather (Lib Dem, Brent East)
Since she was elected in 2003, Sarah Teather has claimed nothing for second home allowances, and nothing for travel expenses.
Stephen Timms (Lab, East Ham)
As an outer London MP, Stephen Timms was entitled to claim a second home allowance but chose not to.
Malcolm Wicks (Lab, Croydon North)
Another outer London MP who decided not to claim for the £23,000 he was entitled to in second homes allowance, instead commuting from his constituency home.
Rob Wilson (Con, Reading East)
With a constituency home forty-five miles from Westminster, Rob Wilson opted to commute to London every day rather than claim for a second home. He says ‘I’ve always preferred to commute so that I can take my children to school in the morning’.
No Expenses Spared Page 35