The PP has stepped on the accelerator of activity in the Senate and its role as scrutinizer of the activity of the Government asserting its majority in an Upper House that, traditionally in the informational background, has regained the focus.
As a consequence of this revitalization the senators' travel expenses have skyrocketed: when only two and a half years have passed since the beginning of this legislature, the Senate has already reached its historical maximum in this item. According to data from the institution itself, the territorial Chamber has paid more than 8.8 million euros since August 2023, already exceeding the total invested in each of the five previous legislatures.
It was in 2024 when a quantitative leap occurred in this aspect, reaching an expenditure of more than 4 million: 1.2 million more than the previous year. In 2022 that same bill amounted to 2.2 million, while in 2021 it was only 1.9 million. In 2024 parliamentary activity fully recovered, which meant more territorial displacements for senators.
For adding context, another complete legislature, the one comprised between July 2016 and March 2019, closed with an outlay on trips by their lordships of 8.4 million euros.
This amount is distributed among the parliamentary, political, and official trips of the senators, and also includes the costs of management, cancellation, and modification of tickets, in addition to the issued tickets that are still pending use.
The more activity, the more spending
As we have said, the explanation for that significant increase in the annual expenditure on senators' travel is simple: parliamentary activity has increased. In figures, the monthly number of plenary sessions has increased from 2 to 3 and the investigation committees have skyrocketed, as pointed out by sources from the Socialist Group, who detail and quantify their statement: in 2025, 93 sessions were held in investigation committees at a rate of 30 participating senators in each of them.
- Commission on the 'Koldo Case': 51 sessions
- Commission on the Dana: 16 sessions
- Commission on the CIS: 13 Sessions
- Commission on the April 28 blackout: 13 sessions
Sources close to the presidency of the Senate, in conversation with Demócrata, agree that the increase in spending is due to there now being "much more activity" than in previous legislatures. "Not only are there investigation committees, there is everything, and also one more plenary session per month," they insist. The same sources also acknowledge that the PP is using its majority in the Upper House to increase control over the Government's actions in this legislature.
The PP, which controls the different tables of the committees in the Senate, is also the one that sets the number of sessions for them, while also having the power to activate new ones. This Tuesday, promoted by the popular party, a new investigation committee has been launched, that of the state of the railway network, after the train accident in Adamuz and Gelida.
The political commitments of many of the senators in their own territories, where they can serve as mayors and regional deputies, among other occupations, contribute to continuous round trips. Some political groups consulted by Demócrata consider the pace set by the PP in the Senate disproportionate.
MORE COMMISSIONS THAN EVER
So far in the XV Legislature, the Senate has launched more investigative commissions than those created in the entire rest of the democratic era. The total count of commissions arisen since 1977 is only eight.
Currently five remain open: on the 'Koldo Case', SEPI, the Dana, the April 28 blackout and the state of the railway network. Last February, the CIS one concluded its work.
Six commissions in barely two and a half years, compared to the three that have taken place in previous fifteen legislatures:
- V Legislature (1993-1996) : on the GAL
- XII Legislature (2016-2019): on Pedro Sánchez's thesis and the financing of political parties