MP claimed £80,000 expenses in four years
Leicester South MP Sir Peter Soulsby has revealed he has claimed around £80,000 over the past four years to pay for his second home.
The figure was revealed as he opened-up his four-year expenses files exclusively to the Leicester Mercury, saying he wanted the finances to be "completely transparent".
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Leicester South MP Sir Peter Soulsby takes the train to London
The Labour politician's expenditure on rent and mortgage payments, included £62,000 since 2006 for an £380,000 central London flat bought because he wanted to be able to walk to work at Westminster.
The remainder of his rent claims were for a flat in Kennington, London, in 2005 before he moved closer to Parliament.
In four years, Sir Peter also spent around £2,000 on furniture and household items from shops, such as Ikea and Asda for his home in the capital.
But today he refused to criticise MPs who had spent much more.
His biggest furniture claim was for a £155 sideboard from Ikea, and he also paid out £55 for a bookcase and £24 for drawers, with all the rest of the items costing no more than £50.
He also bought four cushions for £20 from Dunelm Mill in the city, much less than Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who spent £480 on 22 cushions from John Lewis.
Sir Peter has never made claims for food, decoration, gardening or maintenance at his London flat, nor has he ever claimed anything for his constituency home in Leicester.
He said: "I spent 30 years as a local councillor in Leicester and during that time you knew that everything had to be completely transparent. I still feel the same way about this now.
"The amount paid for the flat is a very large amount of money by my standards and Leicester's standards, but, put simply, that is London rates. I wanted to be able to walk to work. For the first few weeks as an MP I tried to commute to London but it wasn't possible.
"I deliberately decided to set myself a limit of no more than 10 per cent of the allowance in the first year only on furniture. Beyond that figure, and in all subsequent years, I took the view that it was right that I myself met the costs of household equipment and furniture.
"In the last year, I have only claimed for part of the interest on the fixed rate mortgage on the flat. The remainder of the interest and all other costs are met from my salary.
"I do not want to criticise other MPs, they have made their choices."
A controversial period where bailiffs were sent to Sir Peter's Charles Street offices in Leicester after his rent was not paid is also played out in his expense claims.
The fees office at parliament failed to pay it as they should have, and then ignored a reminder from Sir Peter, which meant debt collectors came to ask for the money.
As a result, Westminster officials agreed that the MP should not be liable for the £472.59 bailiff's bill.
Sir Peter said: "It was entirely the fees office's fault that the bill for office rent had not been paid."
25 Comments
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by Marcus, Leicester
Tuesday, June 02 2009, 10:25AM
“Second time ive sent my comments why is the Mercury deleting my views?”
by Marcus, Leicester
Tuesday, June 02 2009, 10:24AM
“I could not believe how MPs are milking the tax payer for everything we have. Look, Sir Peter Soulsby ONTOP of his wage claimed £20k+ a year in expenses. I decided to look deeper and I found that when he was a Leicester City Councillor he paid himself the highest wage in the entire Country! It¿s no wonder that on average his expenses are in the top quarter of highest spending MPs. In the mercury Sir Peter Soulsby said ¿I spent 30 years as a local councillor in Leicester and during that time you knew that everything had to be completely transparent. I still feel the same way about this now."
although according to his voting record he was absent for three key votes on transparency of MPs expenses, and he AGREED that MPs SHOULD NOT HAVE TO disclose receipts under £25, you can get a three course meal for £20 so how do we know he¿s telling the truth when he says he didn¿t claim for food?
It seems our Leicester MPs are very shady characters who are conning us all, If ¿Sir¿ Peter Soulsby wants to be called a ¿Sir¿ and ¿MP¿ I believe he should call a public meeting to prove he is worthy, one things hes shown me is that he can be Peter ¿NO SOULsby when claiming expenses.”
by yusuf sidat, Leicester
Friday, May 29 2009, 1:47PM
“Dan, I am not a Labour member, you can talk to me and check if you wish. I judge people not by just words but by actions as well. I had the pleasure of talking to Peter Soulsby when he was a Councillor, i asked him a question and he gave me an answer, not one i wanted to hear but one he said was what he could do. I prefer politicians who are honest not one who promise everything to everybody.”
by Peter Soulsby, Leicester South
Friday, May 29 2009, 8:47AM
“Jane is mistaken.
I have chosen to reveal my claims.
As early as 18 May 2007 I was one of only 25 MPs who defied our front benches and voted against the attempt to exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information Act - the Act that has now brought all of our expenses into the open.
She can check my voting record (and that of other MPs) online on 'Hansard'.”
by Jane, West End
Thursday, May 28 2009, 12:30PM
“The Leicester Mercury should bear in mind that The Sunday Telegraph revealed the expenses of Sir Peter, in the same way it revealed the expenses of Keith Vaz.
The coverage suggests that Sir Peter chose to disclose his expenses, he did not.”
by Edward Chapman, Stoneygate
Thursday, May 28 2009, 9:17AM
“£80,000 for his second home would buy two first class flats in Leicester. If you add together all the MPs second homes you could buy a whole street. Did'nt Sir Peter Soulsby give us all those cycle lanes in leicester? He should get on his bike and get to work.”
by Dan, Leicester
Thursday, May 28 2009, 8:45AM
“interesting to note ther is alot of positive feedback from people who put 'they are not labour party' ....... lol, so so weak”
by Bert, Leicester
Wednesday, May 27 2009, 2:44PM
“He has never shows his face in his constituency until election comes.
He isn't a publicity-hound like certain other local MPs, certainly. If you talk to people in the know, he does a hell of a lot of work for his constituents, regardless of their social background or ethnic group, without making a song and dance about it (just as his predecessor Jim Marshall did). I don't think we should be throwing the baby out with the bathwater - there are legitimate expenses which MPs incur as part of their jobs, and Soulsby doesn't seem to have been playing the system for personal gain. I'm a constituent but a floating voter when it comes to political parties - I voted Labour last time despite Soulsby's party not because of it.”
by Andrew, Leicester
Wednesday, May 27 2009, 1:48PM
“His expenses seem preatty reasonable to me.
Hes claimed for his home (which for all intents and purposes is a office for a MP) and reasonable furnishings for it.”
by Sohail Patel, Leicester
Wednesday, May 27 2009, 1:06PM
“Mr Soulsby
should do the honourable thing and RESIGN.
He has never shows his face in his constituency until election comes.”