Olympic solution for MPs’ second homes
By Alex Stevenson
Accommodating MPs in the Olympic village could resolve the second homes headache and save millions, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has suggested.
It has put forward a proposal which it claims would wipe out the controversial additional costs allowance for MPs – source of much of the systematic abuse revealed recently.
Some of the 3,000 new homes which will be the legacy of the Olympic village could be turned into accommodation for MPs whose constituencies lie beyond commuting distance, it is proposed.
“We have been paying for MPs to build their property empires for too long,” TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott said.
“It is clearly necessary to consider radical proposals to ensure that we don’t continue haemorrhaging taxpayers’ cash every year.
“Money is tight, so taxpayers won’t want to see large amounts spent buying second homes for MPs when they are struggling to pay their own mortgages.
“Using the Olympic Village after the Games are over, which is already being built at the taxpayers’ expense, would offer an affordable and sustainable way forward and aid the regeneration of the East End.”
Problems with finding private sector financing for the Olympic village have meant the project has had to be nationalised.
Mr Elliott argues this can be turned into a positive, as it means there would not be any extra cost in converting them for public use to house MPs.
Today’s report says the cost of not selling the houses as currently planned would be recouped within a decade.
And it points out this solution for dealing with MPs is in use in Europe: the Swedish parliament owns around 250 apartments for its representatives.
