The former councillor from Liverpool was elected to Parliament at her fifth attemptShe had planned to buy a flat in Lambeth, south east London, before opting for one in Pimlico.
She claimed £11,324 in stamp duty for the Pimlico property and spent £5,000 on furnishings before embarking on a £16,000 renovation of the flat.
The expenditure of the MP for West Lancashire, who was elected in 2005, rose dramatically in the last days of each financial year, bringing her close to the maximum annual allowance.
Miss Cooper said the work would benefit the public purse. “I have previously stated that any profit realised when the flat is eventually sold will be given to Parliament on behalf of taxpayers,” she said.
Her claims will raise concerns that some MPs spend large sums of taxpayers’ money on relatively modest properties in an apparent attempt to “use up” their maximum entitlements.
On March 31, 2006, Miss Cooper paid £11,324 in stamp duty and legal fees on her flat in Pimlico. Land registry records state that she paid £330,000 for the flat in July 2006.
Other purchases claimed on the last day of that financial year were a steam cleaner, curtains and picture frames.
On March 26, she bought a bed for £1,314 and a three-piece suite for £2,098. The fees office paid out £1,114 and £2,000, respectively.
At the end of the next financial year, Miss Cooper made several claims. She paid a £5,000 deposit to a builder on March 30, 2007, for work on a new kitchen and new bathroom. The quote for work on the kitchen and the bathroom came to £16,903.
Miss Cooper said that only the first £5,000 was covered by the second home allowance and that she had paid £12,654 towards the work. She added that the flat had an old kitchen and was “in poor condition” when she bought it.
The day after she had paid the deposit to the builder, Miss Cooper bought a television from John Lewis for £899 – the figure was reduced by the fees office to £750 – and claimed an extra £35 for its delivery. The sale was completed at 6.50pm.
She also claimed for a fridge (£199) and an AEG washing machine (£349) from John Lewis on the same day. Delivery and disposal charges were an extra £50.
In total, Miss Cooper, the ministerial aide to Ben Bradshaw, the health minister, claimed £65,465 in three years.
She said she claimed the second home allowance for “one off costs for fixed or big ticket items which are easily identifiable and which can be returned to Parliament or a local charity should Parliament not want them.”
The former councillor from Liverpool was elected to Parliament at her fifth attempt. She had previously stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate.
She attracted controversy in 2006 after writing to Downing Street to seek “an assurance” that Baroness Thatcher would not be considered for a state funeral.
Miss Cooper said that she would pay capital gains tax on any profit from her flat and added: “The original flat purchase fell through and those costs were only incurred because, as a newly elected MP from the North West, I needed accommodation in London to do my work representing the people of west Lancashire.”
Rosie Cooper
Job: Labour MP for West Lancashire
Salary: £64,766
Total second home claims
2005-06: £20,382
2006-07: £22,000
2007-08: £23,083
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