Unelected bureaucrats forked out almost £50,000 of taxpayers' cash while mixing with politicians, figures reveal.
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) – which is responsible for improving the regional economy – splashed out £10,000 on hotel rooms and £25,000 hosting lavish events at the three major political party conferences.
A further £3,537 we
nt on expenses while £7,500 was spent on passes during the three conferences. The final bill stood at £47,059.
Seeda is one of nine regional development agencies that spent more than £280,000 between them at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth, Labour’s conference in Manchester and the Conservative conference in Birmingham this autumn.
The expenditure has sparked further calls for the unelected public bodies to be abolished. Ben Farrugia, policy analyst of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This is a serious misuse of public money.
“They were not created to buy wine and canapés for politicians but rather to improve regional economies.
“They have failed to do this, and instead use taxpayers’ money to win over political support. Such behaviour only strengthens the case for their abolition.” The figures, released by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, revealed that the £50,000 was racked up by a few staff – just nine employees attended the Lib Dem conference, seven were at Labour and 10 at the Conservatives.
Seeda spokesman Roy Sutherwood defended the spending, saying it was essential that Seeda was represented at the conferences.
“Party conferences provide a cost-effective way to bring together people who would not otherwise be in the same place at the same time,” he said.
“Seeda has a duty to ensure its partners are informed and updated on developments in the region and used the events as an opportunity to help advance the interests of the people and companies of the South-East.
“Seeda takes communications with MPs, MEPs and councillors of all political parties very seriously and is accountable to MPs and Parliament.
“As a strategic regional body, it is crucial that we are able to discuss and comment on emerging national and regional policy which is a key focus of the conferences.”
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