Eighteen Members of Parliament from the North East have claimed thousands of pounds in expenses on air travel between London and the region in the last four years, an investigation has revealed.
Data from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) - the body that regulates MPs’ staffing and business costs - shows 18 of the 29 MPs from the Borders down to Teesside claimed nearly £15,000 of taxpayers’ money in the four financial years up to and including 2022-23.
The news comes at a time when the Government has a target for the country to be Net Zero by 2050.
Under the expenses scheme, MP’s may claim back the cost of travel incurred by themselves, their staff, and any dependants if the MPs are deemed to have caring responsibilities for them.
Hexham MP Guy Opperman claimed the most money back on flights between London and Newcastle, costing the taxpayer £2,760.16.
South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck was the second biggest financial claimant, spending £2,027.26 of taxpayers’ money on flights up and down the country for herself and staff members.
Both Mr Opperman and Ms Lewell-Buck have, so far, not responded to requests for comment.
Northumberland County Councillor Nick Morphet, a Green Party member for the Humshaugh ward in Mr Opperman’s Hexham parliamentary constituency, condemned his local MP’s actions.
He said: "As a result of the tax breaks and subsidies lavished upon the airline industry by the idiots in Government, internal flights are usually far cheaper than the equivalent train journey - and it may be that the 18 North East MPs think that they’re spending taxpayers’ money wisely when they choose to fly.
“If that’s the case, they must be guilty of either an alarming ignorance of the enormous hidden cost of flying or a flagrant disregard for the health of the planet.
“It’s particularly disappointing, but not at all surprising, to hear that my own MP is one of the politicians whose disgraceful behaviour this research has exposed. We can and must do far better at the next election.”
He said: "When I have flown to London it has mainly been in order to link with onward flights outside of the UK linked to my role as Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as a Member of the Defence Committee, or as a Member of the Intelligence and Security Committee.
“In terms of usual parliamentary business, the vast majority of my travel is by train.”
Jarrow MP Kate Osborne is ranked fourth on the list of highest-claiming MPs, despite only claiming for flights in 2022-23. Ms Osborne cost the taxpayer £1,510.93 in 12 months alone.
As well as being condemned by the Green Party at a regional level, the decisions of MPs to travel up and down the country by plane and not train has been criticised by the party at a national level.
Matt Edwards, Green Party transport spokesperson, said: “Other countries are trying to reduce the environmental impact of travel by moving away from internal flights to trains.
"But not only is the UK failing on this front, MPs - the very people who are meant to be leading on this - are ignoring this commitment and choosing the most environmentally damaging way to travel.
"On top of that, this is also a terrible use of taxpayers' money. The East Coast Mainline, which connects the North East to London, has regular fast and frequent trains and I can't see any reason why this isn't better value for money than flying."
Six MPs from the North East made expenses claims on air travel between London and Teesside International Airport - known as Durham Tees Valley Airport until the summer of 2019.
- Redcar MP Jacob Young spent £599.90 on five journeys
- Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison spent £242.23 on two journeys
- Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham spent £233.12 on one journey
- Sedgefield MP Paul Howell spent £138.28 on two journeys
- Stockton South MP Matt Vickers spent £88.95 on one journey
- Darlington MP Peter Gibson spent £88.95 on one journey
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Ms Onwurah claimed £69.99 on a flight from Newcastle International Airport to Heathrow in 2022-23, but this was later refunded by British Airways.
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Of the 18 MPs to have claimed money on domestic air travel in the last four years, the Labour MP cost the taxpayer the least at £50.
Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery and Gateshead MP Ian Mearns claimed £113.34 each on air travel in the last year, but do not appear on the list of domestic air claims as their journeys were from Cork Airport in Ireland to Heathrow.
All MPs mentioned in the story were offered the opportunity to comment.
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