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One in five MPs are landlords, register reveals

Most recently-released list of MPs' interest shows shockingly high number of landlords in parliament.

Nigel Lewis

One in five MPs are landlords, it is has been revealed following the release of MPs’ financial interests for the first time since this year’s General Election.

MPs are required to give information on buy-to-let properties if they are worth more than £100,000 and/or generate an income of more than £10,000 a year.

Kevin Hollinrake Hunters imageHigh profile MPs with rental properties include Hunters chairman Kevin Hollinrake (pictured, left), MP for Thirsk and Malton, who owns a third share in six residential properties in York as well as former housing ministers Brandon Lewis and Mark Prisk (pictured, right).

Other notable MPs who are landlords include Hilary Benn, speaker John Bercow, Dr Liam Fox, Zac Goldsmith, Chancellor Phillip Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, Oliver Letwin, John Redwood, Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and Keith Vaz.

These are just some of the 123 MPs who have registered buy-to-let interests. Properties include houses, flats, farm and holiday cottages, says Channel 4’s FactCheck.

Labour MP Laura Pidcock (pictured, left), who recently revealed she couldn’t afford to bet on the property ladder despite her £76,000 MPs salary, told Channel 4 that she thought “anyone who is a landlord should not be able to vote on legislation affecting landlords, it is a complete conflict of interest.

“Of course they won’t vote for further protections for people in their homes and will try to get away with as little regulation as possible, as they perceive that this will affect their profits.”

Tory total

The Conservatives have the highest number of landlord MPs at 87 or nearly a third of their total number, followed by Labour at 28 (11%) and the SNP at three (9%).

This is not the first time that MPs’ conflicts of interest have been revealed – most famously, 72 landlord MPs voted down recent legislation to ensure homes are “fit for human habitation” while research by agent eMoov two years ago revealed that MPs with second homes funded by the tax payer had made £9 million in equity gains during the previous decade.

July 24, 2017

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