MPs expenses: Sir Christopher Chope keeps spending down

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority show the Conservative MP's total business costs for the 2020-21 financial year were £142,887.44.

The MP's costs were up from £134,117.04 the year before, but well below the average for all Members of Parliament, of £203,880.

Speaking to the Bournemouth Daily Echo, Sir Christopher Chope said: "We normally keep quite a tight ship.

"What we spend is what we need to spend."

By comparison, Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Michael Tomlinson had costs of £217,000 last year, while Tobias Ellwood, the member for Bournemouth East, had £159,000.

READ MORE: Revealed: Bournemouth MPs business expenses

READ MORE: At a glance: What your MP spent last year and what on

MPs expenses 2020-21

Sir Christopher Chope, who was elected in May 1997, spent £133,500 on office running costs in 2020-21, including £108,200 on staff wages and £25,200 on other office expenditures. 

And he spent £5,400 of his accommodation budget (of £5,400), and a further £4,000 on travel and subsistence.

The IPSA figures also reveal the 184 individual claims made by Christopher Chope in 2020-21, with the most expensive single claim being for staff payroll – £107,217.72.

At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense the 74-year-old claimed was £4.50 for car mileage. 

The average cost of an MP was up 29 per cent from £158,103, in 2019-20.

Kit Malthouse was the most expensive MP attending the Cabinet in 2020-21, with total costs of £244,312.

This was compared to £178,406 for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and £168,109 for Sir Keir Starmer.

MPs' costs are usually broken down into dozens of categories, with staff pay almost always the largest expense.

Sir Christopher Chope's five largest types of costs were:

1) Payroll – costing £107,217.72

2) Rent – £9,000.00

3) Website hosting and design – £5,000.00

4) Utilities – £4,126.75

5) Council tax – £3,431.18

He also spent £623.34 on a working from home allowance.

Read more on your MPs expenses: 

• Michael Tomlinson: Dorset MP spent £25k more than next biggest spender
• Conor Burns: Dorset MP claims 31p for stationery amid £13k rise in his spending
• Sir Robert Syms: Poole MP cost tax payer £170,000 in business expenses last year
• Tobias Ellwood: Bournemouth East MP only conurbation politician to reduce spending