Labour MP Liz Kendall says some people on benefits are taking the mickey.
She is absolutely right. Look at these unelected scroungers, who bill taxpayers £361 a day to turn up at the House of Lords and fall asleep.
They also get travel expenses and subsidised food.
Outrageous!
More Info…
Members of the House of Lords are not salaried for their parliamentary duties but can claim allowances and expenses to support their work. As of 1 April 2024, eligible members may claim a flat-rate attendance allowance of either £180 or £361 for each sitting day they attend. Additionally, they can claim reimbursement for travel expenses incurred while fulfilling their parliamentary responsibilities.
Between December 2019 and November 2024, peers claimed a total of £5.4 million in travel expenses. Notably, air travel accounted for nearly £1.5 million of this sum, with half of that amount claimed by just 14 members. For instance, Lord Cunningham of Felling claimed approximately £85,000 in travel expenses during this period, £72,700 of which was for air travel.
It’s important to note that travel expenses are reimbursed in addition to the daily attendance allowance. From December 2019 to November 2024, the total amount claimed by peers in attendance allowances reached nearly £65 million.
The House of Lords provides detailed monthly reports on members’ claims for daily attendance allowances and travel costs. These reports are publicly accessible and offer transparency regarding the financial support claimed by members.
While the system is designed to ensure that all members can participate in parliamentary duties without financial barriers, it has faced scrutiny over the years. For example, in 2010, Baroness Uddin was found to have wrongly claimed £125,000 in parliamentary expenses by falsely declaring her main residence. Such incidents have led to calls for increased accountability and reforms within the expense’s system.
In summary, while the financial support system for the House of Lords aims to facilitate members’ participation in parliamentary activities, it also underscores the importance of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. People who get paid to turn up and sleep at their place of work at the expense of the taxpayer is not a good use of public funds.
