Welsh Labour MP challenged over expenses and hire of consultant

Martin Shipton

An MP who has been challenged over her level of expenses and choice of a communications consultant has insisted she has not broken any rules.

Claire Hughes was elected in the July 2024 general election as the Labour MP for the new constituency of Bangor Aberconwy.

A member of the public who does not wish to be named wrote to Nation.Cymru stating: “I am writing to raise concerns about the level of public money being claimed in expenses by Claire Hughes … which appear excessive and out of step with her colleagues.

“According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) records, Ms Hughes is the top claimant for accommodation (rent) of any MP currently sitting in Westminster, with monthly reimbursements of £3,358.33. This is substantially higher than other MPs in Wales, such as Andrew Ranger of Wrexham (£2,890.00), Nick Thomas-Symonds of Torfaen (£2,708.33) and Gill German (£2,600.00.)

“Beyond rent, she has also submitted unusually large claims for equipment, software, and consultancy. To illustrate:

March 31 2025 Office Costs (Equipment purchase) Sharp Business Systems (Printer, photocopier and scanner): £6,600;

March 2025 Staffing – Bought in services/comms Causeway Creative Ltd – three entries of £2,500 each: £7,500;

Monthly accommodation (rent) Recurring monthly payments of: £3,358.53;

Smaller office rent (non-accommodation) Monthly office payment of: £606.66;

October 2 2024 Office Costs (software apps) Software Electric Technologies and Applications: £1,440;

Monthly translation costs. Translation of social media / website posts: £600.

Concerning

The email continued: “While MPs do need resources to serve their constituents, the scale of these costs is concerning. Paying a newly-incorporated private agency £7,500 for ‘digital consultancy’ and spending £6,600 on a single office machine do not reflect careful stewardship of public funds.

“At a time when families across Wales are struggling with rent, bills, and inflation, such high claims risk eroding trust in both the expenses system and elected representatives.

“I urge Nation.Cymru to shine a light on whether these arrangements are truly justified, or whether the system is being taken advantage of to the detriment of taxpayers.”

In a further email, the member of the public stated: “Here’s another potential story for you. A possible conflict of interest or failure to declare interest and a possible breach of IPSA / Parliamentary rules? As the MP could be deemed to be employing someone improperly (ie. a ‘connected party’).

“Claire Hughes MP has employed her personal friends to staff her office, including Laura Fielding from Llanfairfechan Town Council (where she served on the council with Ms Hughes) ; she now works in the office of Ms Hughes as her Constituency Support Manager.

“Joanna Stallard was the Labour candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and is now on the shortlist as a Labour candidate for the Senedd election in 2026. She works for Claire Hughes as her office manager, with a salary of up to £50k per year.”

Labour councillor

We forwarded the emails to Ms Hughes and pointed out that following a company search on Causeway Creative Ltd it turned out that the sole director of the firm, Tom Jennings, is a Labour councillor in Warrington. The company, which was incorporated on July 8 2024, four days after last year’s general election, has received fulsome endorsements from various Labour figures and associated organisations.

We asked Ms Hughes:

What exactly did Causeway Creative do for your office? Did you shop around before awarding it the work?

How do you justify the other items of expenditure – for example the higher accommodation claim in comparison with other MPs?

Also, how do you counter the implied allegation of cronyism in the second email?

Rules

Ms Hughes responded: “As you know, the IPSA scheme of MP’s staffing and business costs sets the rules on what MPs can and can’t claim.

“On Thursday November 20 2025, IPSA will be publishing the aggregate data for all MPs business and staffing costs, claims, and salary for the 2024-25 financial year. Along with commentary on how IPSA funding has supported our parliamentary work, and constituents.

“When this is published, Bangor Aberconwy constituents will be able to scrutinise my business costs and claims for the year, which will show underspends of £57,304 on staffing compared to budget, £10,500 on office costs and £5,059 on accommodation.

“I encourage and welcome this scrutiny, and would invite any constituents who would like to discuss my annual return to book a time to do so at my constituency office.

“Anything which I have claimed has been approved by IPSA as being in accordance with the rules, including ensuring that proportionate due diligence is undertaken to ensure wise public spending.

“In the case of accommodation – I receive an uplift in the allowable costs because I have 2 dependents under the age of 18. Clearly, not all MPs will need this uplift for children, and this will lead to a variance in the level of claims.

“In terms of recruitment, every role I have recruited for has been advertised openly and a proper selection and recruitment process followed. Again, in full accordance with the rules set out by IPSA.”