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Today in 'Dan pretends to be an investigative journalist', I take a little peek into the expenses of Stoke South MP, Jack Brereton. It makes for interesting reading. Let's have a look. (1/9)
Jack's been MP for Stoke South since 2017. He couldn't have racked up that much over such a short period? Dear reader, he's amassed £546,985.53 (that's not including his salary–we'll get to that). (2/9)
A few highlights: £66,980 on rent for accommodation in London. According to records, Jack's London flat costs the taxpayer £1,841.66 per month—£300 more than average London prices. (3/9)
Next up, travel costs of £27,394. Interestingly, Jack has talked about the importance of local public transport (see pic), yet not a single bus ticket on his expenses? Almost £300 in taxis, though. (4/9)
Staffing came it at £370,000. I'm not an expert on the duties of a backbench MP but, to give context, Jack's staff costs for 2019-20 were only £10,000 less than Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. (5/9)
So, Mr Brereton is getting a London flat; trains, taxis and , and car expenses; and a team of four people to work for him, all paid by the taxpayer. And then there's his salary... (6/9)
When Jack to office in 2017, his basic pay was £61,614.98. That increased to £77,379.00 the following year, and his current salary is £81,932. In an unrelated matter, Jack voted against free school meals recently. (7/9)
I'm sure Jack's a decent human, and I appreciate politics is an expensive business. But has Stoke South improved under his representation? Is there less poverty, better infrastructure, improved public services? (8/9)
As my recent thread on @Sotlive highlighted, we need to hold our political leaders under constant scrutiny. They are there to serve us and, unless we demand answers and seek the best for the people of our city, we'll continue to be short changed. (9/9)
