How has your summer been? Done anything nice? As MPs prepare to head back to parliament next week, you’ll be relieved to hear that some of the most prominent figures in British politics have been enjoying the season’s cultural highlights – and without paying a penny. MPs throughout the Commons have received £400,000 of “freebies” to concerts, sports matches and other events so far this year, according to the most recent disclosures.

Over the summer alone, Wes Streeting, now the defence secretary, enjoyed the Chelsea flower show thanks to Lloyds Banking Group covering the £1,839 cost, as did the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride. Lucy Powell, who has since become deputy leader of the Labour party and education secretary, accepted £858-worth of tickets to a Harry Styles concert at Wembley from the PRS for Music industry group. Meanwhile, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, nabbed seats at Wimbledon worth £1,360 from the All England Club.

Totalled up, MPs have been gifted £100,000 more so far this year than in the whole of 2025, with recipients seemingly learning few lessons from Keir Starmer’s “passes for glasses” scandal, in which a Labour peer gifted the then prime minister designer eyewear and clothes before being spotted in Downing Street with a temporary security pass.

Like many of these types of stories, there’s some nuance lurking behind the headlines. MPs quite rightly go to events linked to their constituency or local........

© The Guardian