A Tory MP today faced a barrage of criticism after stating that people who are struggling to make ends meet only visit food banks because they “can’t budget,” claiming around £222,000 in business costs in a single year.
From 2020 to 2021, Ashfield MP Lee Anderson claimed £219,703.44 in business expenses, putting his office, staffing, accommodation, travel, and sustenance claims above the average of £203,880 claimed by MPs.
His highest expense was £165,215.27 for staffing, followed by £33,144.30 for office costs and £17,650.60 for lodging. He also spent £67.57 on food and drink.
Mr Anderson, who earns £84,144 a year as an MP, caused uproar earlier today after he claimed that Brits ‘can’t budget’ and there was ‘not this massive use for food banks’ in Britain.
He also offered an invitation for Opposition MPs to visit a scheme in his own constituency that represented ‘a real food bank’ and allowed people to ‘make a meal for about 30p a day’.
Mr Anderson, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Conservatives prior to his election to Parliament in 2019, faced immediate anger in the House of Commons.
He was berated for his ‘crass and cruel’ comments as Britons up and down the country face a cost-of-living crisis due to soaring prices, and provoked the row as he spoke in a Commons debate on the Queen’s Speech.