341 MPs claim £200,000 for energy expenses

An MP who counts his work on the Energy Bill Committee among his parliamentary achievements has topped a list of MPs claiming expenses on their energy bills, according to reports. […]

An MP who counts his work on the Energy Bill Committee among his parliamentary achievements has topped a list of MPs claiming expenses on their energy bills, according to reports.

Nadhim Zahawi’s website boasts about his work on legislation to improve the “provision of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses”, yet he appears to have taken very few lessons back to his £1 million constituency home, having claimed £5,822 in just 12 months for its energy bills.

The Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon claimed £1,265 for heating oil and a colossal £4,557 for electricity for the year up to March, the Sunday Mirror reported.

He was far from alone. Bills of more than £1,000 were clawed back by 41 MPs, while 78 members made claims exceeding £500. A grand total of roughly £200,000 was claimed by 341 MPs – a majority of the Commons.

The second and third spots on the list went to Conservative MP Andrew Robathan and Labour MP Peter Hain, who claimed back energy bills of £4,586.80 and £4,571.74 respectively.

The Labour leader and former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband put £403.59 on the taxpayers’ tab, while the Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint charged £368.88 to the public purse.

The Conservative MP and chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, Tim Yeo, was reimbursed £979.68 for gas and electricity at his London flat.

The Labour MP John Mann – one of the 309 members who didn’t claim – told the Sunday Mirror: “Perhaps the MPs who have submitted the claims should start wearing thicker jumpers.

“There will be people including pensioners who can’t afford to heat their homes who will be furious to find out that MPs who can afford to pay them are putting in such high claims.

“Government ministers are attacking Ed Miliband for proposing to freeze prices but they don’t have to worry about the cost because they can put the claims in.”

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