Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis criticised for spending £10,000 on improving his image
He paid the money to two London marketing firms, with one receiving almost £7,000 in the last year
Last updated 29th Sep 2023
A Norfolk MP has faced criticism for spending almost £10,000 of taxpayer cash on marketing agencies to help improve his image.
Brandon Lewis, Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, has paid the money to two London marketing firms, with one receiving almost £7,000 in the last year.
The payments emerged in expenses published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which oversees spending by MPs.
In total, Mr Lewis spent £9,805.80 on the two companies: Millbank Creative and Westminster Analytics, which is now branded as Westminster Digital.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing, but Labour opponents have questioned whether the spending was an appropriate use of public money.
Mr Lewis, however, has defended the payments saying they were entirely within the guidelines.
The documents show the Yarmouth MP spent £3,000 with Westminster Analytics over six payments between September 2019 and February 2020.
Since November 2022, Mr Lewis has spent £6,805.80 with Millbank – £1,194 every month, except November 2022 when he spent £835.80.
The IPSA statements only run until April – when the financial year ended – and it is unknown if he is still paying the company.
Millbank describes itself as “the leading content creators for MPs, ministers, government departments, embassies and public affairs” and helped launch Liz Truss’s Conservative leadership campaign in 2022.
The firm is understood to be behind a series of videos which have been shared on Mr Lewis’ social media called “In the Garden with Brandon”.
In one recent clip, the MP made extraordinary claims that Tory activists who have volunteered for him are finding it harder to get mortgages and insurance because banks now consider them ‘politically exposed’.
Keir Cozens, Labour’s candidate standing against Mr Lewis in the next general election, has questioned the MPs’ spending on the marketing firms.
“Like most people, I was shocked to read that Sir Brandon is pocketing at least £150,000 from a number of second jobs, on top of the £86,000 he’s paid to be the part-time MP for Great Yarmouth,” he said.
“Now, with an election fast approaching, he’s making taxpayers fork out almost £10,000 on a slick London agency to try and improve his image locally.
“I’m sure the people of Great Yarmouth will judge whether this is an appropriate use of their money.”
Mr Lewis stressed that the spending on marketing was a “legitimate parliamentary expenses within current guidelines” that have been approved and paid by IPSA.
He said MPs are entitled to “buy in” a range of professional services to assist them in their duties as part of their normal office and staff budget.
“This is a long-standing arrangement that politicians of all political parties make use of, including colleagues in the eastern region, for services that include external office support, policy and research development, legal advice and communication services,” he said.
“An important role as a Member of Parliament is continued communication and engagement with constituents on a wide range of issues.
“As the consumption of information has increasingly moved away from print media, including newspapers, to the use of social media more and more MPs are actively using this as a key form of communication.
“As many other MPs also do, I make use of professional services to assist with this vital aspect of my work.”
Mr Lewis recently came under fire for taking on four jobs in addition to his work as an MP, including as an adviser to a housebuilder.
A spokesman for the MP insisted he was working hard for his constituents.