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Your MPs' expenses revealed - well almost

8:24am Thursday 18th June 2009 in


WANT to know what your MP has been claiming in expenses to represent you for the last four years?

The House of Commons has made the information public today - but MPs have been allowed to remove information they deem personal or sensitive.

So far the Echo has discovered pages and pages where all details about what the money was for have been removed.

Christchurch MP Chris Chope was outed in the Telegraph today in a story headlined "Who ate all the pies? They did. Who paid for them? You did" as one of 32 MPs who claimed the maximum £400 a month allowed for food.

North Dorset MP Bob Walter, on the other hand, claimed nothing for food in 2007/08 at all.

Click the link below to read the facts and then have your say and vote in our poll.

Sir John Butterfill's expenses

Chris Chope's expenses

Tobias Ellwood's expenses

Jim Knight's expenses

Oliver Letwin's expenses

Annette Brooke's expenses

Desmond Swayne's expenses

Robert Syms's expenses

Hugo Swire's expenses

Bob Walter's expenses

The Echo will be going through the claims MP by MP but there's a lot of information - so if you spot anything you think we should look at, email us at newsdesk@bournemouthecho.co.uk

More Expenses stories

Click here for all our expenses news

Related links


Comments(24)

davep1 says...
9:35am Thu 18 Jun 09

From the Telegraph - Tobias Ellwood has £3,880 claim for loft conversion on flat in Battersea rejected. Changes second home to Bournemouth where he claims £2,134 a month mortgage interest.


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Bournemouthstorm says...
10:36am Thu 18 Jun 09

I do not know anyone local who earns in a month what Tobais Ellwood claims in mortgage payments a month. Amazing.

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twynham says...
10:56am Thu 18 Jun 09

As expected, Chris Chope’s expenses are as transparent as his policies.

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nigel24 says...
10:58am Thu 18 Jun 09

Should MPs who live in Dorset and Hampshire have a second home when there is a perfectly good train service to London.I personally do not think so.Correct me if i am wrong but prior to becoming an MP,Tobias Ellwood,first home was in Bournemouth.Now as an MP his Bournemouth home is his second home.Seems to me the taxpayer is funding his lifestyle,Political and Personal, and it shows his loyalty to his constituents and Bournemouth East.I think he is under the misguidance that Bournemouth East is a safe seat and this will be his job for life.However,the political landscape has changed through the scandal of MP expenses and he might not be as safe as he thinks.

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John T says...
11:08am Thu 18 Jun 09

I note my MP Robert Syms claims almost as much on food per year, as a single pensioner gets in total.GREEDY ****!

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John T says...
11:21am Thu 18 Jun 09

I now see Syms' food bill is conservative compared with Sir John Butterful's.
It is a wonder that Sir John can fit in his luxury bathroom and kitchen, supplied at the taxpayers' expense, with all that food inside him!
I wonder why none of these pigs have claimed for troughs!

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durotriges says...
12:22pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Today's release of documents shows little but how our MP's have tried to hide the truth. But for the Telegraph we wouldn't know why Tobias Ellwood's mortgage doubled. It was because he had tried to claim for a loft conversion. When that failed he flipped his primary residence to cover his £2000 a month mortgage. Which is worse? Flipping or trying to cover it up? Both loook pretty bad. Then there's the £1000 a month phone bill in July. He wasn't away on holiday by any chance? Is this the best the tories have to offer? But then they secured £5000 to carpet the room he occasionally uses. Is there no-one actually from Bournemouth we could choose to better represent ourselves than the expensive man from Hertfordshire

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jeebuscripes says...
1:12pm Thu 18 Jun 09

With so much money going out of the public coffers, it's no wonder the IMAX couldn't be helped in its hour of need.

What a disgrace.

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JLC says...
1:18pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Why not publsih the IMAX accounts so that we can all see what went wrong. so horribly wrong.

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Seek&Expose says...
1:56pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Simple answer. Give all MPs the Median Wage for their constituency. So in Bournemouth Tobias Ellwood and John Butterfill would be on about £18,000 a year. This would give them real motivation to improve the living standards of their (generally poorly paid) constituents. Also the government should buy a large three star hotel in London and put up MPs there. No need for 2nd homes allowance then.

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Seek&Expose says...
2:15pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Another thing people don't realise is that many MPs have other jobs or sources of income. Non-executive directorships, money for speaking appearances and TV appearances. So they get MP's Salary, MP's Expenses and considerable other income. MP's should therefore have to publicly declare their entire income including expenses. Then we could all make a true comparison of what they get and we earn.

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pete woodley says...
4:08pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Over £500 for two sets curtains,for a place hardly used, ?.For Tobias.

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Timberman1 says...
4:09pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Well Im not impressed with the expenses scandal but I did attend Ellwood's public meeting and he explained the question over the loft and changing homes. In fact its on his website. Good on him for at least stepping forward. Not sure why the other MPs did not.

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MissLittledown says...
4:51pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Gosh there are some nasty people on this site! Has anybody tried calling their MP to ask them questions? Or is too hard work and just easier to sit in front of your PC and winge?! All head teachers in Bournemouth get over £100k - (believe me I know) - everyone of them. Do we ask how they spend their money? Get into the real world. You want useless MPs (more useless than the present lot) then pay them peanuts.

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Old Contemptible says...
5:00pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Tories often ask 'where is the money coming from?'I reminded parasite Butterfill about Tories charging income tax to those claiming unemployment benefit which the Tories introduced! That shows the hypocricy of not only Tories but also 'New Labour' who have kept that tax on!
How low can these parasites stoop?
The duopoly of Tory and Labour needs breaking down. Legislators and lawyers are known worldwide for charging the earth and delivering little!

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Old Contemptible says...
5:09pm Thu 18 Jun 09

MissLittledown
MP's are not paid peanuts!
There are too many people in this country who are paid too much but 'earn' too little of it. Apparently our most senior 'security'Police Officer who neglected to shield sensitive information from photographers decided to 'take' early retirement pay of over £110,00- per annum. Yet this lot always claims that they are UNDERFUNDED!!

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MissLittledown says...
5:18pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Old Contemptable - was not saying they should get more - apologies -just pointing out they get LESS then heads and deputy heads, police inspectors, GPs and any director on Bournemouth council; All paid by the tax payer (us) but none of whom have to provide expenses - but I bet they all occasionally buy curtains etc with their money - shock horror!

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John R says...
5:35pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Oh hello! The whingers are out again! The staff at the Echo must love the lot they have on here!

To everyone who doesn't live in bournemouth and reading this we are generally more happy than this site would indicate!

I'm fed up with expenses - i heard that ellwood was a success at his public meetings, i think you whingers should speak to him face to face rather than sit and moan. Get a life!

And as for the other MPs maybe they should get out and meet people too and explain themselves. We're not all unreasonable people, you won't get rocks thrown at you - but we do deserve an explanation.

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John T says...
5:38pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Miss Littledown
I agree that MPs are poorly paid compared with those public servants you list and even more badly paid compared with bankers and other private enterprise executives.However, the point is that all of them,except MPs, buy curtains and food with their own money, not OURS!

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Old Contemptible says...
5:41pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Whilst Hoon the former Defence Minister was 'flipping'his homes 4 or 5 times for his financial gain(and our loss!) our military were being killed in Iraq and Afganistan. Hoon was clearly able to perform both his Miniserial and MP's duties. Presumably that hard work necesitated having a 12 week recess(Holiday)durin
g the summer. Hoon by the way is a lawyer too!

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John T says...
5:47pm Thu 18 Jun 09

John R
When given the opportunity by the Echo to pose questions about their claims on this site to Tobias Ellwood, Annette Brooke and Jim Knight, I did so... and a useful exercise it was too.
I await news from the Echo as to when other local MPs, such as Sir John Butterful and Robert Syms, are goig to put themselves in the firing line for similar questioning.

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MissLittledown says...
6:10pm Thu 18 Jun 09

To John T: I hear what you say - but its actually the same. A policeman who gets a London allowance on top of his salery does not have to submit receipts. Its still OUR money. The daft thing about the MPs system is they do. SO we now drool over every item in this voyoristic way. My nephew is in Afghanistan - should we not be debating that? MPs who did wrong should not stand - but lets allow the rest to get back to the issues.

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richw says...
7:05pm Thu 18 Jun 09

I voted for Tobias '130 grand expenses' Ellwood last time. Not again. The man did not even have the courtesy to reply when I asked him to justify this.
We need a total clean out, with Martin Bell clones installed so the whole rotton corrupt shower are sent to hell.

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The Seasider says...
8:19pm Thu 18 Jun 09

Clearly the Telegraph did what the government couldnt face doing- publishing the actual truth- about all the scams this lot were up to.

As expected the government disclosures make it easier to hide home flipping. Also, the attempted claims to get taxpayers to foot the bill for MPs to feather their nests with whatever takes their fancy were exposed by the Telegraph and hidden by the government.

Never forget: MPs voted in 2008 on the whether to overhaul the expenses system. THEY VOTED TO KEEP THE SYSTEM AND MAKE NO CHANGES! Now, we know why they didnt want the public to find out what they were up to.

Once there were Rotten Boroughs. Now just Rotten MPs.

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