All the expenses claimed by MPs in Durham, Teesside and Tyne

Four Conservative MPs and one Labour MP each claimed back more than £60,000 from the taxpayer in the most recent data published by regulators.

Northern Echo analysis of Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data found information on MP expenses, from those who claimed most to least.

Here's a graph of what each MP claimed in expenses between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023:

The data provided by IPSA was from between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, and takes into account accommodation, travel, stationary and other item expenses needed by MPs. 

This also covers expenses claimed for travel within the constituency, travel to London for parliamentary work, renting a second home in London, staffing and office costs.

Within the data, there is nothing to suggest that any MP listed has done anything wrong, we've looked at the figures and noted down how much they have claimed and how many items they have claimed in the timeframe. 

We also approached the MPs in the top ten of the list and asked them why they believe their costs are among the highest in the region.

Jacob Young (Conservative), Redcar (Image: UK PARLIAMENT)

From the list, Labour MP, Kate Osbourne, who represents Jarrow, was listed first with £75,383 claimed in expenses. 

The biggest costs for the Jarrow MP included £29,500 in accommodation and £19,092 in travel. 

Kate Osborne (Labour), Jarrow (Image: UK PARLIAMENT)

Further down the list, three Conservative MPs in the form of Redcar's Jacob Young, Ian Levy, who represents Blyth Valley, and Darlington MP Peter Gibson make up the top four, with each of the three Conservative MPs claiming over £60,000 in expenses. 

In response to The Northern Echo reaching out to Darlington's MP Peter Gibson, representatives for the MP said: "Peter always shares this information when it is published and believes he provides a first-class service to his constituents and uses the allowances permitted by IPSA to deliver that first class public service."

Peter Gibson (Conservative), Darlington (Image: UK PARLIAMENT)

Another of the MPs to respond to The Northern Echo was Sedgefield MP Paul Howell, who said: "As you can see from the data my “Expenses” are the costs of travel, accommodation in London, office costs and salaries, all of which are within the prescribed budgets and essential for my work serving constituents. I take my responsibilities about spending public money seriously and always look for the best value."

Nationally, between April 2022 and March 2023, MPs across England and Scotland claimed over £30m in expenses, which amounted to 147,920 items claimed on expenses. 

None of the North East MPs have made it into the top ten national bracket for claiming expenses. 

However, Ian Levy, Conservative MP for Blyth Valley, who was ranked third in all North East MPs for expenses claims, has said that there is reason for a high need for those expenses. 

He said: "I support the stringent rules for Parliamentary Business Costs regulated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority who are also responsible for paying these business costs and the salaries of my staff - costs solely incurred in the performance of my parliamentary functions. 

"These business costs cover my constituency offices in Blyth Valley and Westminster, staffing costs and reimbursed travel and accommodation costs incurred through my constituency and parliamentary duties, My team have a very busy caseload and work hard to support constituents in Blyth Valley." 

Here's a map of each MP by constituency and the amount of expenses they have claimed:

The MP who claimed the most expenses in the eleven months nationally was Steven Bonnar, from the SNP, who claimed £131,431.

Here are the rankings below: 

1. Kate Osborne (Labour), Jarrow - £75,383.34 (324 items claimed for)
2. Jacob Young (Conservative), Redcar - £75,114.96 (300 items claimed for)
3. Ian Levy (Conservative), Blyth Valley - £67,741.86 (553 items claimed for)
4. Peter Gibson (Conservative), Darlington - £63,496.48 (390 items claimed for)
5. Richard Holden (Conservative), North West Durham - £62,512.34 (407 items claimed for)
6. Paul Howell (Conservative), Sedgefield - £59,719.09 (333 items claimed for)
7. Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour), South Shields - £59,032.60 (240 items claimed for)
8. Guy Opperman (Conservative), Hexham - £58,655.29 (311 items claimed for)
9. Catherine McKinnell (Labour), Newcastle upon Tyne North - £58,638.51 (249 items claimed for)
10. Sharon Hodgson (Labour), Washington and Sunderland West - £58,353.69 (450 items claimed for)
11. Matt Vickers (Conservative), Stockton South - £57,615.10 (148 items claimed for)
12. Julie Elliott (Labour), Sunderland Central - £57,526.00 (292 items claimed for)
13. Dehenna Davison (Conservative), Bishop Auckland - £57,360.88 (225 items claimed for)
14. Bridget Phillipson (Labour), Houghton and Sunderland South - £56,694.61 (586 items claimed for)
15. Mary Kelly Foy (Labour), City of Durham - £55,382.16 (306 items claimed for)
16. Alex Cunningham (Labour), Stockton North - £54,067.15 (312 items claimed for)
17. Kevan Jones (Labour), North Durham - £53,677.83 (475 items claimed for)
18. Mary Glindon (Labour), North Tyneside - £52,529.39 (190 items claimed for)
19. Simon Clarke (Conservative), Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland - £51,863.17 (67 items claimed for)
20. Liz Twist (Labour), Blaydon - £51,386.50 (378 items claimed for)
21. Chinyelu Onwurah (Labour), Newcastle upon Tyne Central - £49,657.10 (473 items claimed for)
22. Jill Mortimer (Conservative), Hartlepool - £45,719.00 (160 items claimed for)
23. Ian Lavery (Labour), Wansbeck - £43,683.46 (250 items claimed for)
24. Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative), Berwick-upon-Tweed - £43,016.40 (426 items claimed for)
25. Andy McDonald (Independent), Middlesbrough - £42,343.88 (119 items claimed for)
26. Sir Alan Campbell (Labour), Tynemouth - £39,271.94 (230 items claimed for)
27. Ian Mearns (Labour), Gateshead - £38,603.52 (150 items claimed for)
28. Grahame Morris (Labour), Easington - £36,180.75 (208 items claimed for)
29. Nicholas Brown (Independent), Newcastle upon Tyne East - £30,626.44 (121 items claimed for)

*All of the data in this story is from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).