Tory deputy chairman slammed for charging constituents £5 to meet him at coffee morning

The Conservative Party’s deputy chairman has been accused of a “shameless cash grab” after advertising a constituency coffee morning for voters in Stockton West – and charging £5 a ticket to attend, with the money going directly to his campaign fund.

Matt Vickers, who serves as shadow minister for illegal immigration, crime and policing under Kemi Badenoch, sent an email to constituents in Kirklevington advertising the two-hour event as a chance to “talk about local issues, raise any concerns you may have or simply drop in for a chat and some cake.” The catch: tickets were five pounds, assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

The news has drawn swift condemnation from local politicians, rival MPs and ordinary residents – with critics arguing that access to an elected representative should never carry a price tag.

What the email said

The invitation, sent by Vickers’ team to local residents, made the financial arrangement explicit. It described the event as a “great opportunity to talk about local issues” before adding: “Tickets are a fiver and will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.”

The email went on to explain what the money would be used for: “Any proceeds will go to my campaign fund to help fund our regular newsletters and surveys.”

That last detail is the one that has caused most offence. It means that residents who want to raise concerns about their community – roads, planning, local services – will simultaneously be contributing financially to the MP’s re-election campaign. A constituent attending to complain about potholes would, in effect, also be helping pay for the literature designed to persuade them to vote Conservative at the next election.

One voter who received the email and shared it with The Mirror did not mince their words: “I first emailed Matt Vickers about the mess his Tory government made of the economy and now he’s mailing me demanding I pay a fiver to talk to him.”

Political reaction

The response from local politicians was sharp and swift.

Labour MP Chris McDonald, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Stockton North, said the principle at stake was clear: “Access to your MP should never be hidden behind a paywall. People shouldn’t have to pay to raise concerns or be heard. MPs already receive a budget to run an office and engage with constituents. I’d urge the other MP in Stockton to reverse this cash grab and ensure all constituents can contact him, not just those that can pay for the privilege.”

Luke Myer, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, was equally direct: “Holding a ‘coffee morning’ that doubles as a campaign fundraiser is frankly outrageous. Constituents should never be asked to pay just to raise issues with their MP or have their voices heard. Being an MP is a public service and a privilege, not a pay-to-access role. Local engagement should be open and accessible, not limited to those who can afford a ticket.”

Stockton Borough Council leader Cllr Lisa Evans added a sting to her criticism, referencing a separate controversy involving the area. Recalling the row over former Conservative Home Secretary James Cleverly – who was accused of calling Stockton a “shole” in a Commons exchange, which he denied – she said: “We all remember the top Tory who called Stockton a ‘shole’. Now Fat Cat Matt wants to charge Stockton residents just to speak to their own MP. Stockton Tories should remember they are elected to serve the public. Not profit from them.”

Vickers’ defence

Vickers pushed back on the criticism, arguing that the event had been mischaracterised and that residents have numerous free ways to contact him.

“No one ever has to pay to speak to me. I hold regular surgeries, pop-up sessions and spend a great deal of time out in the community, speaking directly with residents,” he said. “There are multiple free opportunities to meet with me each week, through which I engage with hundreds of people and support many more throughout the year.”

He framed the £5 charge as a practical measure rather than a political one: “This event is simply an additional, informal way for people to come along and have a conversation in a relaxed setting. The small charge helps cover the cost of refreshments, and I do not believe it is appropriate to use taxpayers’ money for that purpose.”

He also went on the counter-attack, pointing to what he described as inconsistency in the criticism: “It’s also worth noting that Labour MPs regularly host paid events themselves, including one locally costing £40, so this criticism is more than a little inconsistent.”

The wider principle

Whatever the merits of Vickers’ defence, the episode has touched a raw nerve about access to elected representation – and about the relationship between MPs and the people they are paid to serve.

MPs receive a salary of over £91,000 a year, plus expenses and a staffing budget to run their constituency offices. The purpose of those resources is precisely to enable them to be accessible to and engaged with the people they represent. The suggestion that a resident wishing to raise a concern about their community should pay for the privilege of doing so – and that the money raised should go towards the MP’s electoral campaigning – cuts against the basic principle that democratic representation should be equally accessible regardless of ability to pay.

The criticism may well be legally unimpeachable. There is nothing to stop an MP from charging for an event. But politics is as much about optics as legality, and the optics of a senior Conservative politician – already fighting a battle for credibility as his party faces wipeout in May’s local elections – charging his own constituents five pounds to express their concerns are not good ones.

Vickers has been a vocal critic of waste and the misuse of public resources. The irony of being accused of leveraging his own public role to fill his campaign coffers is not one that has been lost on his local opponents.