A blog by Luke Akehurst about politics, elections, and the Labour Party - With subtitles for the Hard of Left. Just for the record: all the views expressed here are entirely personal and do not necessarily represent the positions of any organisations I am a member of.
As MPs' travel expenses have now been publicly declared, I am happy to reveal that the travel expenses I have claimed from the London Borough of Hackney in the 5 years I have been a councillor total nil pounds nil pence.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 9:10 am
Labour MP for North Durham since 2024. Labour Party activist since 1988 - firmly on the moderate wing of the party. Member of Labour’s NEC 2010-2012 and since 2020. National Secretary of Labour Students 1995-6. Parliamentary candidate for Aldershot (2001) and Castle Point (2005). Hackney Councillor (Chatham Ward) 2002-2014, Labour Group Chief Whip 2002-09, Chair of Health Scrutiny 2010-2014. Dad. Unite and GMB union member. All views expressed in a personal capacity. The rest will become evident from reading the blog.
3 Comments:
Well done that man! So unlike our own dear (very dear) Eric Joyce MP for Falkirk with a cool £45,000 travel expenses last year, he came into the top 5 MP claimants in both air travel and mileages categories… but not in rail travel.
12:53 pm, February 14, 2007
MMmmm. In Manchester the travel expenses for ornery councillors are part of the annual allowances paid. And on duty there are taxi accounts and tickets bought by the TH. So they simply don't claim travel expenses. Exec members may be different to an extent.
But if there are not similar arrangements in Hackney what is your point anyway. In Manchester we have some councillors who have their allowance of £15,000 before tax as their only income and they are of course taxed for membership of ALC and of Manchester LG.
These people are less able to afford to pay their own fares on political duty than those with allowances plus a good professional salary at WS.
Is this a call for only rich people to be councillors and MPs in future? Those that will pay their own necessary expenses?
Please do clarify what you mean.
8:45 pm, February 15, 2007
Chris - I wasn't intending to make a serious point. We can claim for travel outside the borough on council business but not inside it.
7:44 am, February 16, 2007
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