John Penrose

John Penrose has always published details of the money he has used as Weston-super-Mare's Member of Parliament on his website so that constituents can clearly see how he's spending taxpayer's money. John is currently the second cheapest MP in the old Avon area and is ranked 373rd out of 646 MPs nationwide. He also ranks lower than his predecessor Brian (now Lord) Cotter for each of his first three years in the job.

John has NEVER

• Voted on his pay or allowances/expenses saying "no-one else gets to decide how much they get paid, so why should MPs be any different?"
• Bought anything off the 'John Lewis list' or paid for home improvements from taxpayer's money
• 'Flipped' his home or used taxpayer's money to pay for food

The table below provides a breakdown of the allowances and expenses John has used since he was elected in 2005. There is also a comparison to his predecessor, Brian Cotter MP, in the years before the General Election.

On 18th June 2009, the receipts for MP's claims between the years 2004/05 and 2007/08 were published. John Penrose's receipts can be accessed by clicking here.

For press coverage of John's expenses, please click here.

	John Penrose's Allowances			Brian Cotter's Allowances
Type	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06	2004/05	2003/04	2002/03
Additional Costs Allowance	£21,211	£21,679	£9,808	£20,902	£20,325	£19,592
Incidental Expenses Provision	£23,624	£22,348	£19,963	£19,325	£18,727	£18,219
Staffing Allowance	£79,996	£86,122	£70,985	£73,893	£71,773	£68,376
Members' Travel	£4,568	£4,033	£4,393	£7,894	£9,245	£9,055
Members' Staff Travel	£279	£16	£94	£1,537	£584	£381
Centrally Purchased Stationery	£866	£340	£1,341	£635	£792	£761
Stationery: Associated Postage Costs	£2,682	£1,480	£2,513	£2,130	£2,174	N/A
Centrally Provided Computer Equipment	£1,234	£1,177	£1,177	£1,817	£1,817	£1,817
Communications Allowance	£9,240	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Other Costs	£0	£0	£0	£6,310	£0	£0
Total	£143,700	£137,195	£110,274	£134,413	£125,437	£118,201
Ranking	373rd out of 645	336th out of 645	Full year not incurred	120th out of 659	197th out of 658	207th out of 657

Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) is designed to help MPs from outside London with the expense of living in the city while Parliament is sitting.

Incidental Expenses Provision (IEP) covers the costs of running John's constituency office at 24 Alexandra Parade. It includes office rent, equipment and supplies. It doesn't include the costs of running John's office at home in Winscombe.

The Communications Allowance was introduced in 2007/08 and covers the costs of John’s newsletters and other literature to update residents on what he’s been doing for Weston and the villages.

Staff costs include the salary, national insurance and pension costs of John's staff. None of this money comes to John and he has never employed a member of his family.

Travel is the cost of travel on Parliamentary business only. Personal travel costs are not covered. John travels by train between Weston and London whenever possible, rather than by car, to reduce the environmental impact of his travel.