Who pays for UK MPs to travel

2,263 declared trips and events worth £8,988,516appear on the Electoral Commission register as non-cash donations with a purpose-of-visit. These are sponsored visits: foreign governments, think tanks, lobby groups and individuals paying for MPs to travel, attend conferences, or meet heads of state. The single largest paymasters are Hong Kong’s government, Conservative Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Israel; the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, India and Japan all appear in the top tier.

Foreign-government trips

468

'Friends of' group trips

286

Think-tank invitations

157

Company-paid trips

189

Foreign-government paymasters

State-actor sponsors paying directly for UK MPs to visit. Ranked by total declared value.

#	Sponsor	Trips	Total value
1	Hong Kong Government	31	£286,310
2	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)	21	£105,078
3	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar	20	£97,176
4	Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar	12	£87,017
5	Government of India	18	£80,055
6	Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs	12	£78,448
7	Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs	16	£75,183
8	United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)	12	£56,900
9	Ministry of Defence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	6	£48,177
10	Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar	8	£45,427
11	Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan	5	£44,357
12	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	5	£43,810
13	Government of United Arab Emirates	6	£41,666
14	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs	4	£37,400
15	Embassy of the State of Qatar	8	£37,096
16	Government of the United Arab Emirates	10	£35,000
17	HM Government of Gibraltar	17	£33,441
18	Ministry of External Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)	9	£32,400
19	Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs	6	£32,094
20	Government of Taiwan	8	£32,010

‘Friends of’ groups

Foreign-affinity parliamentary groups paying for member-MP delegations. Often a soft-power channel for the country in question.

#	Sponsor	Trips	Total value
1	Conservative Friends of Israel	128	£275,891
2	Labour Friends of Israel	56	£142,636
3	Conservative Friends of Israel Ltd	29	£87,670
4	Conservative Friends of Israel Ltd (CFI Ltd)	17	£54,898
5	Northern Ireland Friends of Israel	10	£24,776
6	Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI Ltd)	8	£22,780
7	Labour Friends of Israel Ltd	8	£20,950
8	Conservative Friends of America	3	£16,134
9	Friends of Sinn Féin USA	4	£10,994
10	Conservative Friends of Israel Limited	3	£9,730
11	Liberal Democrats Friends of Israel	2	£6,621
12	Friends of Sinn Fein	3	£6,431
13	Friends of Sinn Féin Canada	3	£5,383
14	Labour Friends of India	1	£5,000
15	Conservative Friends of Bangladesh	2	£4,800

Think tanks & institutions

#	Sponsor	Trips	Total value
1	American Enterprise Institute	9	£53,266
2	Hoover Institution	2	£50,844
3	Progressive Policy Institute	7	£49,603
4	Hudson Institute	3	£36,506
5	UK Office of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation	3	£33,049
6	Heritage Foundation	3	£26,636
7	USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy	1	£23,859
8	Pallas Foundation	1	£17,450
9	American Enterprise Institute (AEI)	1	£16,846
10	The Triarius Foundation	2	£16,260
11	The Varkey Foundation	2	£16,106
12	The Heritage Foundation	2	£15,680
13	The Evan Roberts Institute	6	£14,590
14	Chartered Institute of Arbitrators	2	£14,170
15	Children's Investment Fund Foundation	5	£13,765

Recipients · who took the most paid travel

#	Recipient	Trips	Total value
1	Mr Andrew Mitchell MP	31	£181,835
2	The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP	40	£168,715
3	Mr Nigel Farage	7	£166,966
4	The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss	10	£107,248
5	Tom Tugendhat	13	£93,836
6	Conservative and Unionist Party	4	£85,389
7	Mr Boris Johnson MP	6	£83,491
8	Labour Party	5	£75,958
9	Mr Bob Blackman MP	14	£69,438
10	Mr Barry Gardiner MP	17	£65,503
11	Mr Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt MP	19	£63,041
12	The Rt Hon Theresa May MP	4	£62,913
13	Mr Andrew Rosindell MP	19	£61,179
14	The Rt Hon George Osborne MP	13	£59,565
15	Mr Mark Pritchard MP	20	£57,904
16	The Rt Hon David Lammy MP	7	£55,528
17	The Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP	16	£55,304
18	Mr Nigel Evans MP	13	£53,676
19	David Morris MP	16	£52,552
20	Oliver Dowden MP	5	£51,596
21	Al Carns	1	£47,442
22	The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP	8	£43,156
23	Naz Shah MP	14	£43,125
24	Mr Tobias Ellwood MP	10	£43,085
25	Mr John Mann MP	14	£42,835
26	Mark Garnier MP	9	£41,205
27	Sharon Hodgson MP	9	£40,488
28	Sir David Amess MP	10	£40,184
29	Mr Alok Sharma MP	5	£39,663
30	Mr Virendra Kumar Sharma MP	11	£39,430

Largest single trips

Paid by	For	Date	Value	Purpose
Bassim Haidar	Mr Nigel Farage	2025-11-06	£54,921	Speaking engagement and charity event
Sasan Ghandehari	Mr Nigel Farage	2026-01-21	£50,482	Speaking engagement
Team Forces Funding Ltd	Al Carns	2025-05-15	£47,442	As part of a team of four UK veterans, I undertook a record breaking, speed ascent of Mount Everest in under a week. Their purpose was to unify the military community, raise awareness of the overwhelmingly positive contribution of veterans, and to raise cr
World Economic Forum	Conservative and Unionist Party	2009-01-31	£43,512	Visit by David Cameron and team.
Liberal Party of Australia (Victoria Division)	The Rt Hon Theresa May MP	2022-02-09	£38,700	To promote gender diversity in politics and business.
Hoover Institution	Kemi Badenoch	2025-10-16	£27,480	To participate in a conference organised by the Hoover Institute.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar	Sir Keir Starmer	2023-11-30	£25,509	Meeting with the Emir of Qatar, travelling from COP28 in Dubai
Christopher Harborne	Mr Nigel Farage	2026-02-19	£25,000	Humanitarian aid mission
Conservation International do Brasil	The Rt Hon David Lammy MP	2023-08-13	£24,739	Bilateral meetings and visit to Amazon region.
UK Office of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation	Mr Boris Johnson MP	2023-01-18	£24,085	To participate in the Davos Ukrainian Breakfast.
USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy	James Cleverly MP	2026-01-29	£23,859	I visited Los Angeles and Sacramento accompanied by Lady Cleverly, as the guests of The Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. I was invited as a fellow and guest lecturer and to meet with the British and American Business Council, as well a
Australian Labor Party	Labour Party	2011-11-29	£23,390	To observe and contribute to the Congress of the Australian Labour Party. Information exchange with with the ALC on campaigning, policy development etc. Meetings with sister parties from Norway, Italy etc also present at the Congress
Hoover Institution	Conservative and Unionist Party	2025-10-16	£23,364	Overseas Trip
Centre for Strategic and International Studies	Mr Andrew Mitchell MP	2017-04-01	£21,158	Meetings on international development with Senate and Congress
BRIDGE	Oliver Dowden MP	2025-12-06	£20,850	Speaker at BRIDGE Summit 2025
Mr Nigel Doughty	Labour Party	2011-10-31	£20,844	Overseas visit
Green Dragon Coalition	The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss	2024-02-01	£19,541	To attend a political conference.
Pacific Forum International	The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss	2023-05-06	£17,912	Attendance at a Pacific Forum meeting on freedom and democracy.
Hudson Institute	Tom Tugendhat	2025-09-04	£17,648	Attendance at a conference to discuss the transatlantic alliance.
Singapore Government	Wes Streeting	2023-12-03	£17,591	To take part in the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship meeting Singapore Government officials and learn about their health and social care system.
Pallas Foundation	The Rt Hon John Healey MP	2022-10-09	£17,450	Speech at the Wilson Center, policy discussions and briefings with US Government officials, officials from Congress, think tanks and industry
American Enterprise Institute (AEI)	Mr Boris Johnson MP	2018-09-12	£16,846	To receive Irving Kristol Award at AEI Annual Dinner.
Australian Labor Party	Labour Party	2016-05-14	£15,618	For two staff members to help out with the election campaign for our sister party in Australia, one returning on 8th July and one returning on 21st July.
George Cottrell	Mr Nigel Farage	2024-12-14	£15,277	Personal meeting
David Ross	Mr Boris Johnson MP	2019-12-26	£15,000	Private Holiday
Heritage Foundation	The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP	2022-01-05	£14,990	Keynote speaker at the Awakening Conference
E2 Summit	The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss	2023-10-08	£14,212	To deliver a speech at Stein Eriksen Lodge.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Mr Boris Johnson MP	2018-09-18	£14,000	Meeting with regional figures to promote education for women and girls.
Office of International Visitors	Stephen Flynn	2026-02-21	£13,948	US Department of State International Visitor Leadership Programme Numerous engagements in the United States of America with various stakeholders operating in the energy and economy sectors.
The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists	Conservative and Unionist Party	2012-08-25	£13,415	To visit the Republican convention
Mauritius Labour Party	Sir Geoffrey Cox	2024-11-08	£13,302	invitation of the Mauritius Labour Party, to observe and monitor the general election, to hold discussions with members of the incoming government and to witness the transition of power to the new government
Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals, Australia	Andrew Pakes	2025-10-21	£13,194	Speaker at the Business Council of Co-operative and Mutuals [BCCM] Leaders’ Summit in Adelaide. Meetings with Ministers and associated organisations in Canberra in relation to UK and Australian policies for co-operative and mutual businesses.
Forstmann Little & Co	The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP	2010-09-25	£12,955	Attend Forstmann Little Weekend Conference
Temasek Holdings	The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP	2011-09-25	£12,752	Airfare, accommodation and other travel paid to travel to Singapore on 26 September to address the Temasek International Panel
Flying Lion Ltd	Mr Andrew Mitchell MP	2007-04-15	£12,465	not recorded
Progressive Policy Institute	Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger MP	2023-10-21	£12,335	To meet with Canadian Parliamentarians and others in Ottawa and US Senators and others in Washington DC to talk about energy, taxation and other related matters.
Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry	Angela Rayner	2024-02-18	£12,332	A Labour delegation to several cities in the Republic of India to meet business, political and faith groups.
Muslim World League	Mr Rehman Chishti MP	2023-06-12	£12,280	Invited to speak at an event at the UN, at a Conference hosted by the Muslim World League with faith leaders, Representatives from the UN, Academia, USA Government, NGOS, Civil Society.
Michael Ashcroft	The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss	2022-12-04	£12,211	To attend the 2022 International Democracy Union Conference in Washington.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan	Ranil Jayawardena MP	2018-08-04	£12,209	As a member of the APPG on Japan, participation in a study tour (Anglo-Japanese relations, international trade, defence, technology).