Is there any reason why British MPs London 2nd home cant be abolished & MPs get room in a Travelodge instea?

Agree with questioner. Yes I too have stopped at Travelodges both for work and holidays and the bed and room is actually far more comfortable and relaxing than my bedroom at home and you can get Sky channels . As for meals Travelodge do not have a restaurant and the one mistake you made Wamino is the £19 only covers your bed, Breakfast has to be paid for separately. But they are always nearby a range of restaurants, and if the Travelodge was in Westminster MPs would have an even wider choice of different restaurants than with Travelodges on Motorways so no excuse for any whingeing on that count?

Some might be concernecd about security. But it would in fact be better for security as one lady MP is in trouble in today's Telegraph for charging the taxpayer for having a security guard 24-7 nin her London home. If all the MPs were accommodated in the one Travelodge when not in their own Constituencies, there could be a security guard on every floor so they would all be better protected, and that would not have to be paid for by the MP herself, so she would surely feel far safer there than in her current second home?. 

Cool Hal you seems to have missed the point. I like to relax in between my shifts at my workplace but I do not expect the taxpayer to pay for my having Sky Sports and the adult channel on my TV and my employer certainly will not. Also MPs like Eric Pickles referred to in the Question have other homes within commuting distance of Westminster, but choose not to sleep there. While other MPs like where I live in Reading we have one Tory MP (Rob Wilson) and one Labour MP (Martin Salter) both with Constituencies far further away from London than Eric Pickles. But neither claims one penny from taxpayer for his second home in London. There are many others in similar situations.

No I think Travelodges are an excellent compromise choice. I do not go along with the suggestion they should stay in a barrack room like the guys in "Bad Lads Army" I saw last night on ITV4. (But many on YA might feel that would be more appropriate?) The other point is any millionaire MP like David Cameron feels he needs more relaxing accommodation than a travel lodge , he is perfectly free to book himself into a much more luxurious hotel, such as the Dorchester just up the road from Westminster. But we the taxpayer should not have to pay the cost of his luxury if he has a free room to sleep in equivalent to all other MPs which he is not using . Anyway his Constituency home in Chipping Norton, is only about an hour travelling time from London. So if he chooses to stay in the Dorchester or Savoy because he thinks a Travelodge is just not good enough for an ex Public school chappie, he too should have to pay that himself  not charge it to you and me on only just above minimum wage and struggling to pay our bills ?

Yes, I agree that MPs should be provided with cheap accommodation. It is an idea if Travelodge would agree to provide a building in Westminster just for MPs. The cost would have to be estimated against building a block of 2/3 bedroom, furnished, self-catering flats, that would be owned by Westminster Council. The flats would need a car park, security guards and caretakers. Which ever of these suggestions would be the cheapest! But I think that MPs expenses should be cut much more drastically. Why should they claim for food? The rest of us have to buy our own! The only justified expenses that MPs should be allowed to claim, are travel expenses, at second class, or economy fares. And in London, using tubes and buses during the day and early evening. No taxi fares unless it is after 9 p.m.

There is no earthly reason why the second home allowance should not be abandoned straight away.

However I will tell you why this expense fiasco is dragging its feet, its because the majority of MP,s claiming the second home allowance have and are making enormous profits on their properties.Toni Blair claimed for his second home in London and when he became Prime Minister purchased a 3million plus property in London and sold his first second home for TEN times the purchase price.Was he required to pay anything back to the Tax payer,of course not.

As long as the rules are allowed to be abused and over-seen by the abusers themselves, the changes if any will take a rather long time.

This is only the beginning of the so called legalised robbery committed by the law makers of this country.

Just wait and see.

As far as accommodation for any MP is concerned they should be housed in a Hostel near parliament and any expense claims should be scrutinised by an independent body and open to public inspection at all times.

My thoughts have been running along similar lines for some time. Their main home should be in their constituency. MP's are in London for the purposes of being at Westminster so there should be no need for a home as such. A small room in a purpose built dwelling should be more than adequate. With a set allowance for basic room and facilities and any other claimed expenses independently scrutinised for legitimacy.

They're correct! There is absolutely nowhere for the innocent civilians, men, women & children of Gaza to go. Israel have systematically turned Gaza into a ghetto and a living hell for most Palestinians, by their constant & deliberate blockading of food, medicines, and other essential supplies at the borders. They've done it for years, and they wonder why groups like Hamas start gaining support & fire missiles into Israel. The Israelis have acted in the same way as the Nazis did in WWII. They are no better, and it is not racist or anti-semitic to say so. That's a great thing to hide behind for the Israelis. They have deliberately timed this one-sided, ruthless & murderous action in Gaza because during these last few days of moron George Bush's presidency they knew they would get away with it with American support. It will miraculously cease when Obama takes charge, because without his support, they will have no friends in the world, and no financial support. Their action will come back to haunt them with a new generation of terrorists who have seen what Israel have done to their families, friends and countrymen. It's about time the UN had some real backbone and power, and warned Israel to stop, otherwise a UN force will be deployed to protect UN & other aid workers in Gaza.

What makes these lying turds any better than us?

We vote them in expecting them to do a good job for us and make our lives better.

Instead we get a recession mainly caused by greed and we find out that the majority of those we vote into office are on the take from the public purse.

Is there any wonder that politicians are looked on as lying thieving b.stards

We have one of these turds as our MP and guess who I will not be voting for at the next election "Mr Meale"

I staid in a travel lodge and it was luxery compiared to my home.I even got my bed made insted oif having to do it myself & bed was far more comfortable than the lumpy mttress I have to sleep on at hoime. So there aint no reezon why MPs shudnt live in one. But on 2nd thoughts seeing above refrence to "Bad Lads Army" witch I saw too last nite, I think that is the sort of accom MPs shud have. I particularly liked that guy whose personal hygiene was so bad that he stank so the sergeant made him sleep outside in the freezing cold as a punishment & hoiked him out of his bed at 6AM to make sure he washed and got to work on time. Thats sounds like MP material and way the tossers shud be treated for there misconduct!

I disagree that this is suitable for an MP. I have also used Travel Lodges for the odd night and you are right they are more than adequate for a night.

But would you really want to stay in one 4 nights a week 40 days a year. Living off crap mass produced food from the pub next door? I had a duel sited role for a period of 6 months and stayed in a Holiday Inn Express (similar to a Travelodge). I gained almost a stone in weight due to not being able to eat healthy home prepared food and was so depressed it was untrue. I would welcome anyone to try living in hotel room for any period of time.

Yes they have internet access - but in my house I have, Sky, A Wii, A PS 3, neighbours that come round, friends that come for dinner, a room where the kids sleep, a cooker, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, washing machine music centre, an electric guitar and amp, a saxophone that I play. Books, a printer, a fax, None of these can be used in a travel lodge.

Many MP's have staff working out of their London home.

I dont object to the taxpayer buying each MP outside of a 50 mile radius of London a two or three bed roomed house, so they can work from, relax after work , entertain or have their families stay over. As long as they hand the keys back in when they lose or resign their seat and it goes to their replacement.

Expenses whilst shouldn't be used to reward MP's it shouldn't be used to punish them either. They need downtime and to relax as much as the rest of us.

EDIT - for those that thumb down or agree with the travel lodge idea think of the bigger picture. Nobody in their right mind would live in a Travel lodge or one roomed house for any length of time. As MP's dont get paid enough to buy or run two houses look at the MP's you would get. Only ones rich enough outside of being an MP would be interested, the first thing they do is scrap the 40% and 50% tax and raise the tax for everyone to 30%. They get richer, you get poorer.

Cimax - I haven't missed the point but I am sure that you dont have to move all your things every week to a hotel room and back again at the weekend. Nor would you want to. A house provided by the taxpayer is a fair compremise. It is also a long term saving as long as the keys are handed back when they leave parliment.

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This bunch of fiddling scum have been at it since forever. Gordon "dropped himself right in it" Brown has apologised today , not for the crime that's been committed during the last god knows how long by him and his accomplices, but for the "last few days" of trouble that he and his string section have had because they've been caught with their fingers in the till. M.P's from all parties are all covering for each other, you can watch them slither during interviews denying that they have been orchestrating this crime together since they all conspired to "dip" to their hearts consent when they hatched this great drain robbery many years ago.

I WILL GET MY MONEY BACK, if anyone wishes to join me let me know.

A fighting fund to pay for the legal battle against each and every sewer rat will be a tough one, but I HAVE NEVER FAILED so join me today and we'll hang these dishonorable thieves by their scruples.

contact me at martinherglotz@rocketmail.com