Karl McCartney

McCartney claimed a total £1,159,047.08 in expenses between 2010 and 2017, alongside his annual salary of £74,962. His expenses rose each year he was MP, until 2017 when he accumulated over £90,000 in expenses in just six months before he was voted out at the 2017 general election. He employed his wife as an "office manager" and paid her between £40,000–£45,000 in 2015–16.[10]

McCartney is opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage, arguing in a 2012 reply to a constituent's letter on the matter that he felt it would next lead to "multi-partnership marriages... [and] a reduction in the age of permitted marriage".[17][18][19]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, McCartney was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[20]

McCartney was a leading advocate[21][22][23] in Parliament for tackling the educational underperformance for boys/gender education gap. In April 2012 McCartney said that publication of the results of the Department for Education's investigation into allegations of misuse of funds at Lincoln's Priory Federation of Academies Trust should be delayed.[24]

By late November 2014 work had commenced on the pedestrian footbridge over the level crossing on High Street with a further footbridge over the railway due to be constructed in 2015 following years of campaigning by McCartney (and his predecessor) and Lincoln City Council to Network Rail. It was announced in the same month that InterCity Railways, the new operator of the East Coast Rail Franchise, would increase the number of direct trains to London from Lincoln to six per day during their operating timeframe, thereby finally providing a service originally planned for the 2011 "Eureka" timetable, but dropped shortly after McCartney was elected in May 2010, when it was announced that the services would be cut back to just one, after DOR took over operations from National Express.[25]

On 4 December 2014 McCartney was able to confirm that the £49.5m of funding for the Eastern Bypass was secure and that the Government would support in principle a future bid for the bypass to be a dual carriageway.[26]

McCartney campaigned to ensure there are curbs on false whiplash car injury claims.[27] There was later a Government consultation[28] on the subject.

On 28 February 2013, McCartney apologised to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) for the content of notes he had sent to staff. The notes were described by IPSA Chief Executive, Andrew McDonald as 'abusive', 'offensive' and 'condescending'. McCartney's apology stated, "I apologise unreservedly to IPSA for my comments which were inappropriate, and which I regret having made. I accept that such comments have given cause for offence. You will not see me making similar remarks in the future in respect of IPSA, which has a difficult and important job to do."[29] The following month he claimed that IPSA's incompetence had forced MPs from all parties to borrow money and that he had had to ask his parents for financial assistance.[30] McCartney also said that he had been told by a "senior IPSA official" that the organisation intended to "damage MPs as much as possible," a claim that IPSA said was "wild ..simply untrue."[30]

In November 2014, McCartney complained to Twitter about its "security changes". He denied claims of "favouriting" a pornographic image on Twitter. He said he never used the "favourite" function on the social networking site.[31][32]

McCartney's attitude to women was criticised after a councillor sent him a tweet comparing the 2015 election all female Labour Party shortlist in his constituency to women modelling underwear.[33] After a hostile response, the councillor, a Conservative chairman in Margaret Thatcher's home town of Grantham deleted the remark and apologised. Selected Labour party candidate Lucy Rigby, noting that only 1 in 5 Tory MPs were women, retweeted 'Here's Karl McCartney MP & Tory Cllr discussing my selection to stand as a MP. & ppl q why aren't more women in politics.' McCartney replied that those with a sense of humour would appreciate the remark though he said the comment was addressed to another Twitter user joining the debate.[33]