The Tory leader claims over £2,000 a month for rent and £400 for council tax
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claimed nearly £4,000 in taxpayer money in 2023/24 to cover the council tax on her luxury rented farmhouse in North West Essex.
According to The Mirror, Badenoch’s country home is council tax Band H, the highest band, which includes the country’s 200,000 most expensive properties.
Additionally, she claims £2,700 a month towards her rent bill. The property is so luxurious that the total rent for the six-bedroom Grade II listed home exceeds the limit MPs can claim for accommodation.
Under House of Commons rules, MPs are allowed to claim expenses for the cost of working in two locations. In 2022/23, non-London MPs were able to claim £26,840 a year for renting in the London area, and £19,090 a year for renting outside London.
While Badenoch is not breaking parliamentary rules, her constituency is just 55 miles from London and falls just outside the area where MPs are no longer eligible to claim accommodation expenses.
According to the IPSA website, in April 2024, the Tory leader claimed £411.68 for council tax, followed by a claim of £1,245 in May for three months’ worth of council tax.
In February 2024, she claimed £1,862.19 for electricity at her constituency home, while taxpayers covered £1,000 of her bill in March 2024.
During a speech launching her leadership bid in September last year, Badenoch said she believed in “personal responsibility” and that in a fair society, people should “prosper by their own efforts”.
Yet, she seems comfortable having others cover her hefty rent and council tax bills.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
