THE House of Lords is “good business” for Scottish Labour, it has been claimed, as figures reveal the party’s peers were paid more than their Tory counterparts during the pandemic.
The National analysed the amount of cash claimed by members of the House of Lords who are registered as living in Scotland between April 2020 and July 2021.
During that 16-month period, the 40 peers claimed £962,526 in daily allowances and expenses.
But, when the peers are divided up by party, another picture emerges.
READ MORE: REVEALED: ‘Grotesque’ £1m claimed by Scottish peers during pandemic
Of the 40 peers, Labour has 13, the Tories have 11, the LibDems have three, nine members serve as crossbench, and three are non-affiliated.
There is also the Lord Speaker, who is expected to remain impartial.
Labour peers who are registered as living in Scotland claimed the most, with £349,827 in daily allowance and expenses in total. This is around £90,000 more than Tory peers based in Scotland – who claimed £259,471.
Crossbench peers claimed a combined £213,254; LibDems £88,019; and non-affiliated peers £39,704; while the Lord Speaker claimed £12,251 in expenses only.
Asked if he found it surprising that Labour peers claimed the most, SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “It is surprising, given that Labour as a political feature in Scotland and at Westminster in terms of democratic representation is next to zero.
“Obviously they’ve sought to compensate for this in the House of Lords.
“It was always a career trajectory for Labour MPs that they would serve a good time in parliament and then be put into the Lords. This is business which is good for the Labour Party and former Labour MPs.”
Labour’s Lord Foulkes of Cumnock topped the list for the biggest claim of combined allowance and expenses at £64,643, and for the highest daily allowance alone at £55,936.
Foulkes recently made headlines by calling for the UK Government to rein in Holyrood’s spending in reserved areas, claiming the SNP are using public funds to further the independence campaign and using the Scottish Parliament as a vehicle to promote independence from Westminster.
Wishart noted the irony of Foulkes’s comments while also coming out on top as the biggest claim.
READ MORE: George Foulkes slammed for 'misogynistic' attack on SNP MSP
He said: “After George’s comments about reining in the spending of the Scottish Parliament, maybe he could think about reining in his own expenses. The Scottish Parliament is democratically elected and speaks for our nation; George Foulkes speaks for absolutely no-one and wasn’t elected.”
Cash claims for daily allowance and expenses by Scottish Labour peers were: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale £62,157; Lord Elder £53,383; Lord Maxton £38,288; Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale £32,486; Lord Robertson of Port Ellen £18,858; Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke £16,979; Lord McAvoy £16,661, Baroness Adams of Craiglea £13,726; Lord MacKenzie of Culkein £10,548; Lord Haworth £10,206; Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill £9558; and Lord Soley £2334.
Scottish Labour did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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