Tory leader spends £30,000 of taxpayers’ money on stamps

WELSH Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies has spent nearly £30,000 on postage stamps over the past six years – almost double the amount spent by the other 59 Senedd Members in total.

And by using stamps instead of a franking machine, Mr Davies has spent more taxpayers’ money than would have been the case otherwise.

Figures published by the Senedd Commission show that between 2015 and 2021, Mr Davies spent £29,974.02, while between them the other 59 MSs spent £15,394.88.

The Royal Mail’s website lists comparative costs for sending letters using stamps or a franking machine.

Sending a letter that weighs up to 100 grams costs 85p first-class and 66p second-class if using a stamp.

Using a franking machine reduces the cost to 72p first-class and 47p second-class.

A large letter weighing up to 750g costs £3.30 first-class and £2.70 second-class using a stamp but £2.87 and £2.19 respectively using a franking machine.

Rules relating to the claiming of expenses by Senedd Members are laid down by the Independent Remuneration Board.

Guidance provided to MSs states under the heading “Value for Money and Reasonableness”: “Members must seek to ensure that any expenditure incurred provides value for money to the taxpayer, represents the most sustainable and reasonable option available and does not have a negative effect on the reputation of the Senedd or its Members.”

A Welsh Conservative source said: “Andrew’s decision to use stamps rather than a franking machine is costing taxpayers’ money. This makes no sense at all and there doesn’t seem to be any justification for it.”

A spokesman for Mr Davies said: “Prior to any expenditure being made for communication purposes, the purchases and justification for such are sent to the Senedd Commission for approval. Each Senedd Member has a fixed budget and expenditure information is publicly available on the disclosure log of members’ expenses and has been for years.

“These figures were recently covered last month by the Western Mail in its breakdown of members’ expenses during the last Senedd term, which showed Andrew ranked 30th out of the parliament’s then sitting 60 members.

“Andrew makes no apology for using the budget to communicate with constituents across South Wales Central and will continue to do so.”