Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Chorley MP Sir Lyndsay racked up a £180,000 bill for plane travel in the space of two years, as part of his role as Commons Speaker.
The figure – first published by the Daily Mail and obtained via a Freedom of Information request – was revealed in a breakdown of the veteran parliamentarian’s foreign travel costs, which are funded by the taxpayer.
It shows that Sir Lyndsay always opted for seats in first or business class when he journeyed to some of the luxury resorts where he has stayed.
The details come after the paper previously reported the MP’s total expenses on trips abroad, between late 2022 and the end of 2024, amounted to more than £250,000.
A spokesperson for Sir Lyndsay said his duties as Speaker involved him acting as an “ambassador” for the House of Commons.
The Daily Mail claims his 19 foreign excursions in that capacity since October 2022 make him ”the most well-travelled Commons Speaker in history”. It adds that it took his predecessor, John Bercow, a decade to generate the same bill for “non-regular foreign travel”.
The one-time Labour MP – who had to renounce party affiliation when he became Speaker in 2019 – spent £22,785 on a five-day visit to the Cayman Islands last summer, including £15,806 on business class flights for him and two of his staff.
During the trip – on which he met his counterpart for meetings – Sir Lyndsay stayed at the Westin Grand Cayman hotel in a £679-a-night room.
On a visit to Ottawa in May and June 2023 – to meet his Canadian equivalent – he rested at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel, where the bill was £893 per night.
Business class air travel to and from the destination cost £15,000 – again for Sir Lyndsay himself and two staff.
The most expensive of the trips listed by the paper was to Canberra, in Australia, in January 2023, which came in at £40,599.
The Daily Mail also highlighted the Speaker’s use of chauffeur-driven cars – costing £4,500 during the Canberra trip and £3,000 when visited Los Angeles in February 2023.
A spokesman for Sir Lyndsay told the Mail: “The Speaker is an ambassador for the House of Commons and has a responsibility to explain and promote the work of the House, and to represent it at high-profile state events and inter-Parliamentary conferences.”
The Lancashire Post approached Sir Lyndsay’s office for further comment.
