If you were an MP

Simple soulution I have advocated for a long time.

Exec halls of residence close to the commons.  No second home allowance.

 

OR, second home allowance and the govt holds the freehold and so you cannot rpofit from the sale of the house aws the MP does not own it.

A backbench MPs job is not full time - otherwise how could they fit in second jobs like so many of them do?  Or take up a cabinet post?

Second home allowance is only one part of the scam.  Nepotism, £250 unreceipted allowance, cash-for-questions, hypocrisy, deceiptful behaviour. 

Take a look at this list and see what your MP claimed last year.  Note that the second home allowance was not claimed at all by some (a very few) MPs, and other allowances vary just as much.  £20k for "communications" expenses.  Chat lines don't cost that much...

I can well understand the requirement for MPs to be available in London and their constituencies, and indeed had their expenses been used for there original purpose of purely renting a property in London then this issue would never have become so wildly reported.

The main criticism is not the second home so much but the fact that the MPs having been claiming expenses to furnish and decorate them.

Many large multinational companies operate assistance shemes to employees who are seconded to a different site in a different country to enable them to rent accomodation but company expense schemes will not cover the employee to go down to B&Q and load up on DIY goods!

While on the subject of large multinationals, most are attempting to cut costs by reducing travel where necessary through the use of telephone & video conferancing and net meetings or webex. Given that MPs seems to spend most of their time in London sitting in the House of Commons sleeping through the days discussions, why dont the political parties just adopt some of these technologies and allow the MPs to join the discussion from the constituancy?
It would save all the second home expenses and given the cars these guys drive, considerable petrol allowances!

The nature of an MP's job is that they essentially have 2 full time jobs one in their constituency and one in westminster.

Would hotel bills in the centre of London be cheaper than the average reasonable second housing claim (there are some), considering the amount they would have to be used, for the whole of the week during a parliamentary session? Genuilney don't know but I have my doubts.

Perhaps they should stimulate the building industry and have 646 (or however many mp's there are) bedsits built.  

 

They do need a second place to stay- at least, the ones who have no access to trains back home after, say, 10pm. The job of an MP SHOULD be split between constituency and and parliament- an MP, especially backbenchers, who is elected and then spends 100% of their time in London is unlikely to hold their seat for long!

The oft mentioned idea of an "executive hall of residence" would, I reckon, be sufficient.