With 646 MPs at Westminster, this adds up to more than nearly £6.5m of potential spend. The allowance is meant for MPs to use to tell their constituents what they have been doing and is often spent on door drops and other print materials.

However, Cameron has called for the allowance to be scrapped entirely, as part of a review of MPs' expenses, triggered by the Daily Telegraph's revelations about what items had been claimed for.

Cameron said: "Taxpayers are effectively paying out thousands of pounds so we can all tell our constituents what a wonderful job we are doing. We've all done it, we all know the facts. Isn't this a gigantic waste of money? Let's save some money. Scrap the communications allowance now."

However, the door-drop industry has hit back, saying that the allowance is an important part of the democratic process.

Chris Roxburgh, managing director of leaflet and door drop distribution company Link Direct, described it as a ‘knee-jerk reaction', and pointed out that, for many MPs, it was the primary method of communication with their constituents.

Roxburgh told printweek.com that, in his experience, leaflets and doordrops were the most popular media for MPs to spend the allowance on, out of the options they were given.

He wrote on the Link Direct blog: "We ourselves work with numerous MPs across the country and know how they value the opportunity to keep their constituents informed. We've written about the benefits of a door drop for politicians before, and it seems strange that Cameron is effectively calling for reduced accountability.

"Of course, I know what this is really all about: money. With expenses such a hot potato at the moment - quite rightly - it's hardly surprising that all but the most essential outgoings have come under the microscope."