MPs award themselves an extra £10k each in expenses

Every MP will be entitled to claim an extra £10,000 a year in expenses to 'communicate' with their constituents.

But in fact the money will allow politicians to pay for 'vanity' letters and glossy campaign leaflets at the General Election - giving the majority of Labour MPs an advantage over opposing candidates.

Critics dismissed the extra money, approved overwhelmingly by the Commons yesterday, as little more than 'propaganda expenses'.

MPs already cost the taxpayer a massive £86.7 million a year in expenses and office allowances, or £134,000 each, including £5 million on travel.

Their £60,000 annual salaries cost taxpayers a further £39 million.

The extra costs bring the total cost of MPs to the public purse to £132.2 million.

The new allowance will cover 'proactive communications with constituents and others, newsletters, leaflets, annual reports and the postage for them'.

It will enable MPs to produce glossy brochures and self-promoting websites. Paying activists to post election leaflets will also be covered by the new costs.

Environment Secretary David Miliband, who is being urged by Blairites to stand against Gordon Brown, was recently criticised for using his taxpayer-funded internet blog for Labour Party purposes.

MPs voted by 283 votes to 188, majority 95, and will comes into effect from next month.

Defending the cash, Commons leader Jack Straw said the £6.5 million cost was a 'reasonable and relatively modest sum' for MPs to communicate with their constituents.

He insisted it could not be used as a 'propaganda tool' or to 'entrench the position of incumbent' MPs.

But critics said it allowed Labour to 'load the dice' in favour of incumbents.

Shadow Commons Leader Theresa May said: "Of course MPs have a duty to communicate with their constituents. 

"But we also have a duty to spend our constituents' taxes wisely. ' "With modern means of communication, we can communicate with our constituents without spending great sums of taxpayers' money.

"The real risk of these proposals is that the money will be used for political marketing, and therefore give an unfair advantage to incumbent MPs. 

"I'm sure the sceptical public don't want more of their taxes spent on MPs' spin funds."

Labour MP Tony Wright, chairman of the public administration committee, said: "Although it is personally advantageous to all of us, I have the most profound reservations about it.

"The truth is that it is going to be an exercise in shameless self-promotion.

"It's going to be something which will tell people how wonderful we are and paid for by our constituents.

"It's a worthy objective. But I caution you whether it's going to do more harm than good."

Labour MP Geraldine Smith said the allowance would allow MPs to indulge in 'shameless self-publicity', adding: "The British public are not stupid."

Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson said: "It is a huge amount of taxpayers' money that is not warranted to be spent on this."

It means that if the next election is in 2010, sitting MPs will have £30,000 more than opposing candidates in their seats.

Official figures show that several MPs already claim more than £20,000 per year in stationery and postage costs alone. 

The biggest spender is Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon, who last year claimed £37,000 of taxpayers' money on stationery.

Sir George Young, chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee, said: "It is possible to argue that voting ourselves more money like this adds to the problem of disconnect rather than solving it."

Parliament's sleaze watchdog Sir Philip Mawer is already considering an inquiry into massive discrepancies in MPs' travel expenses.

MPs were forced to come clean about their car, taxi, air and rail travel following a two-year battle under the Freedom of Information Act last month.

Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen Janet Anderson claimed £16,612 for car travel last year – enough to drive 60,000 miles or travel twice around the world and far higher than many of her colleagues.