; a 'Chinon armchair' (£331); a pair of elephant lamps (£134.50) and a £750 'Loire table'. As this newspaper would later disclose, the Commons authorities refused to sign off the full cost of the table, but they did nod through a birch 'Camargue chair' at £432; a 'birdcage coffee table' at £238.50 and some Egyptian cotton sheets from The White Company. Nothing but the best for the new MP for Surrey Heath, who even tried to expense a foam cot mattress, despite a specific ban on claiming for children's equipment. Quite why Mr 'Second Home' Gove felt the purchases were essential for his new role is a mystery, but he was only just getting started. Within a few months of his arrival at Westminster, he bought another house near Guildford and re-designated it his 'second home'. Taxpayers were slapped with a £13,259 bill for the cost of the move, including fees and stamp duty. He and his then wife Sarah Vine continued to be based near Notting Hill in central London, allowing them to enjoy both places. What rank hypocrisy, then, that the same man now plans to clobber those who pay for two properties all by themselves ! As 'Levelling Up Secretary', he is preparing to give councils new powers to double){kind=link}
The Tories are now toying with the politics of envy
When it comes to the joys of owning a second home, Michael Gove speaks from experience. Back in 2005, when he was first elected, MPs could claim generous expenses for an additional property. The so-called second home allowance enabled those with constituencies outside central London to claw back much of the cost of living and working in two places.
Gove lost no time in maxing out the allowance. Keen that his west London home should reflect his new status as a parliamentarian, he embarked on an extraordinary shopping spree. Not for him a quick trip to Ikea.
Instead, he selected an array of luxury items from Oka, a stylish interior decor company co-founded by David Cameron’s mother-in-law, racking up a bill for thousands of pounds for items including a “Manchu cabinet” (£493); a “Chinon armchair” (£331); a pair of elephant lamps (£134.50) and a £750 “Loire table”.
As this newspaper would later disclose, the Commons authorities refused to sign off the full cost of the table, but they did nod through a birch “Camargue chair” at £432; a “birdcage coffee table” at £238.50 and some Egyptian cotton sheets from The White Company. Nothing but the best for the new MP for Surrey Heath, who even tried to expense a foam cot mattress, despite a specific ban on claiming for children’s equipment.