South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, who vote against extending the £15-a-week school meal vouchers, claimed more than £54,000 in expenses, according to the latest figures available.

Nub News can reveal Mr Cartlidge, whose constituency includes hadleigh and surrounding villages, claimed £2,860.33 per month alone in accommodation costs, totalling nearly £33,000. He also claimed £5,815 in travel expenses from his home in Assington near Sudbury.

Other expense claims took former mortgage broker Mr Cartlidge' total for the financial year up to April 2020 to £54,420.59p. All this was on top of his £81,932, basic MP salary after voting for an increase of more than £3,000.

Mr Cartlidge was among 322 Conservative MPs who voted against a motion to extend the £45 per pupil would have cost to extend the meal vouchers over this October half-term and the Christmas holidays during the coronavirus crisis, and he has faced a backlash.

As Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to chancellor of the exchequer, the Suffolk MP has the ear of Rishi Sunak but has not used it to change course on school meal vouchers, despite receiving hundreds of messages urging him to rethink.

Mr Cartlidge has consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability, while consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits.

Nub News contacted Mr Cartlidge to comment on his expenses, explain why devoted against the school meal voucher extension, and if he would vote differently if a new motion to extend the scheme over the Christmas holiday, but he has failed to respond.

• Meanwhile, a peninsula club is today handing out free meals to schoolchildren