Tory MPs paid £100,000 of public funds to celebration’s in-house internet designers

Greater than 120 Conservative MPs, together with Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, Sajid Javid and Gillian Keegan, paid £100,000 of taxpayers’ cash to the Conservatives’ in-house internet design providers, it may be revealed.

The MPs used the Bluetree web site service to design their web sites. When billed by Bluetree, they’d pay for the websites then declare again the prices from the general public purse through bills, prompting a criticism to parliament’s bills watchdog in regards to the apply.

Conservative Marketing campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) has denied Bluetree is wholly owned by the celebration and says it’s a separate organisation, however repeatedly refused to disclaim the celebration receives earnings from the corporate, saying it has “business preparations with CCHQ”.

Information present greater than 330 invoices from Bluetree to Conservative MPs, together with Hunt, Truss, Javid and Keegan, for internet design providers. Different high-profile Conservatives who’ve expensed providers from Bluetree embrace Ben Wallace, Tobias Ellwood, Mark Francois and Helen Whately.

The corporate – which describes itself because the “Conservative celebration UK official web site platform” and says it’s run “contained in the celebration” – has an handle that’s the similar workplace as CCHQ and has been paid £100,695 in taxpayers’ cash since 2019.

The Unbiased Parliamentary Requirements Authority (Ipsa) has mentioned it could not enable web sites to be funded if it was clear they had been getting used for celebration political functions – whatever the providers supplied by the corporate. It mentioned if any proof was discovered that guidelines had been damaged then it could work with the MP to make amendments or repay bills.

Senior transparency campaigners mentioned they had been alarmed if MPs had been utilizing taxpayer funds that might find yourself with the Conservative celebration. Tom Brake, the director of Unlock Democracy, mentioned the cash needs to be repaid if any surveys from the web site had been used to offer MPs data for campaigning.

“The foundations are clear. Taxpayers’ cash can’t be utilized by MPs for celebration political marketing campaign functions. But Bluetree’s promotional materials about their web sites makes it clear that that’s their meant function,” Brake mentioned.

“Working surveys on an internet site, paid for with public cash, which elicit details about possible voting intention constitutes a breach of the bills guidelines. Except these actions have been individually funded by the MP, any MP utilizing taxpayer’s funds on this means needs to be required to reimburse them instantly.”

Rose Whiffen, a senior analysis officer at Transparency Worldwide UK, mentioned: “There are rightly strict guidelines governing what MPs can and can’t declare on bills, together with utilizing public cash for political functions.

“Any allegations that MPs have used their taxpayer-backed bills to fill the coffers of their respective political events needs to be investigated. MPs ought to fastidiously keep away from any expenditure that could possibly be seen to be misusing public cash to the good thing about their respective events.”

The Labour councillor James Walsh made the criticism to Ipsa. He’s operating towards Hunt within the Godalming and Ash constituency, although the Lib Dems are favourites to take the seat.

Walsh mentioned the authority ought to examine the bills. “There can be nothing intrinsically fallacious with any of the above if these web site providers had been one thing the person MPs or the Conservative celebration had been paying for out of their very own funds, however for these prices to be charged to the taxpayer within the type of Ipsa expense claims strikes me as an outrageous misuse of taxpayers’ cash,” he wrote.

A Conservative celebration spokesperson mentioned: “Bluetree is an unbiased organisation however is a most popular provider of the Conservative celebration. MPs utilizing Ipsa cash for an internet site to advertise constituency exercise is compliant with Ipsa guidelines. Bluetree works intently with Ipsa to make sure pointers are adopted.

“Bluetree and the Conservative celebration have made it clear to candidates who had been MPs that they shouldn’t be utilizing any Ipsa-funded web site throughout the election.”

The celebration mentioned Bluetree was a part of a registered firm separate from the Conservative celebration however wouldn’t say what that firm was. All contact particulars for Bluetree on its web site are directed to CCHQ and Bluetree doesn’t have a separate Corporations Home registration.

MPs have frozen their web sites throughout the election marketing campaign to keep away from breaking guidelines on utilizing the taxpayer-funded websites.

The web site of Bluetree promotes options for use by campaigners. It says it has “the one software program designed to supply Conservative MPs with the options to marketing campaign successfully on-line all through the election cycle” and that “candidates who use Bluetree constantly obtain the next vote share than those that don’t”.

It says: “We’ve got spent greater than a decade working contained in the celebration to supply instruments that you just can not get elsewhere.” It additionally guarantees a web site that’s “compliant with Ipsa, the UK, Scottish and Welsh parliaments, the Electoral Fee and the knowledge commissioner”.

The location directs any queries about websites designed by Bluetree to CCHQ and incorporates the Conservative imprint: “Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of the Conservative celebration.”