A lot has been written about me over the past few weeks. It is an election campaign after all! You may even have seen headlines about a gift I received from a supporter, before I returned to politics, that I am using to ensure I am protected for the rest of my life.
Since 2014, I’ve had to have full-time personal protection and security because of the dangers I face as a well-known public figure. That’s what happens when you go against the establishment and campaign against mass migration.
Sometimes things happen to me when there are cameras around, like the milkshake incident in Clacton in 2024. But there are plenty of other incidents that don’t make the news, and which I usually don’t talk about, including that my home was attacked with an incendiary device last year. In this world, there is also the online threat to contend with too.
The Home Office have refused to help me over the last decade on several different occasions, and unlike Cabinet Ministers and other party leaders, I don’t think the state will ever give me the support I need. I have to face up to the grim — and expensive — reality of finding the money to pay for my own security for the rest of my life.
Some people have also tried to stir up trouble about my outside earnings. But it’s important to note that, unlike many of our politicians in Parliament, I had a real job before being elected and I have been fortunate enough to maintain a career outside of politics. I would also add that I have always declared what should reasonably be declared to the proper authorities.
What has received far less media attention (in fact, it has not been reported anywhere) is my track record in Parliament, especially when it comes to expenses. Since being elected as the MP for Clacton, I have not claimed a single penny for my personal travel expenses or accommodation costs.
My team and I looked at the relevant IPSA records, and I am proud to say that I claimed the joint lowest personal expenses of any MP in 2024–25. I have also voted more times in Parliament than Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. You might say that this represents good value for money for you, the taxpayer!
Some people get involved in politics to be someone, and others get involved to do something. I am firmly in the latter camp. My reason for being involved in politics is to put the British people first, to try and turn this great country around, and to represent the voters. That’s what it’s meant to be all about.
