High Peak Liberal DemocratsDERBY North Labour MP Chris Williamson has called for all 650 members of Parliament to be housed in student-style halls of residence to avoid expenses scandals.
The Labour politician and shadow minister for communities and local government spoke out after his party colleague Dame Margaret Beckett - MP for Derby South - came under fire for charging her £4,000 energy bill to the taxpayer.
Mr Williamson said he was tired of MPs coming under attack over their expenses claims and argued it was time to consider housing MPs in the same place, so accommodation-related expenses could be axed.
He said: "There is a block of flats opposite the House of Commons. I would have thought the more sensible thing to do would be to purchase a block like that to accommodate MPs. I have no problem with that.
"If you could do that, it would be a good idea. It would settle a lot of criticism that is sometimes unfairly levelled at MPs when they claim expenses."
Mrs Beckett disagreed. She said the idea was "not practical" and would not save the taxpayer money.
Mrs Beckett's claim - over a 12-month period - was the fifth highest out of the 650 MPs at Westminster. While MPs are allowed to claim for energy bills on second homes, question marks were raised at how much she racked up.
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Mrs Beckett blamed the high bill on a fault with her heating system. She added a family illness meant the property was being occupied for longer.
But that explanation did not go down well with readers who looked at the story on our website, with one calling for MPs to be put up in halls of residence.
Asked whether he agreed, Mr Williamson, who claimed £229 for his energy bill, said: "I wouldn't disagree with that.
"If you could do that, it would be a good idea. It would settle a lot of criticism that is sometimes unfairly levelled at MPs when they claim expenses.
"It could benefit MPs. When I first became an MP, no support was given to help me find accommodation close by, or any guidance given as to who would be a good landlord."
Despite agreeing with the idea, Mr Williamson said he was not being critical of Mrs Beckett and defended MPs who claimed for energy bills on second homes.
"Let's be clear - claiming for energy bills is not something only MPs do," he said. "If people, through their job, have to work away and have to live in accommodation provided by their employer to fulfil the job they are doing, they are entitled to have energy bills covered.
"I agree everyone else has to pay their own energy bills. So do MPs. I have my constituency home which is where my kids are. I'm paying the bills there.
"If I do not claim for the energy bills for the flat I stay in when working in London, I would end up with two sets of bills."
Mrs Beckett agreed with Mr Williamson's view that MPs ought to be allowed to claim for energy bills on second homes - but insisted putting MPs in halls of residence would be a bad idea.
She said: "No such block exists. You would have to build one. Prices are enormous in London so I don't think it would work out cheaper. Also, there is no space around Westminster so you would have to build it further away and then MPs will be incurring travel costs.
"I can understand why it feels like an attractive idea but it is not practical. MPs are not students - many have families and need more room.
"If they're lucky enough, MPs can serve in Parliament for 10, 30 or 40 years. It's just not viable (to place them in halls). It's not the way you can expect people to live for any considerable length of time.
"One of the things we're starting to see is fewer women and fewer people with families wanting to become an MP. If you put MPs all together in a block of flats that trend will get worse, not better."
Other MPs claimed far less than Mrs Beckett for energy bills. Derbyshire Dales MP Patrick McLoughlin claimed £443 for his energy bill. Fellow Tory and South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler claimed £392 and Erewash MP Jessica Lee, also Conservative, claimed £198.
MPs who did not claim for their energy bills included Mid Derbyshire MP Pauline Latham and Amber Valley's Nigel Mills, both Conservative.
Mr Mills said he claimed nothing as he stays in hotels, while Mrs Latham declined to be interviewed.
Asked about the halls of residence idea, Mr Mills said it was not a workable idea and could end up costing taxpayers more than the amount MPs cost the country.
He said: "God knows what the cost would be for a 650-bedroom hotel in London.
"For someone like me who comes down by myself and doesn't have any kids yet, a room in a hotel or in some kind of MPs' hostel is fine. But for MPs with families who stay with them, it would not be fine.
"What happens when you build something large enough to house all 650 MPs, but then only 300 MPs choose to live in it? It could end up being a white elephant.
"At the end of the day, you don't manage to get the majority of students living in halls. I'm not sure it would be a great idea for MPs, although it would be interesting as you have some MPs in their 30s and others in their 80s.
"You would also have to consider the security risks. I think the House of Commons is one of only two places in the UK where you see security guards with machine guns outside. The security costs are extreme and you would have to replicate that if you were to house MPs in the same building.
"I have no idea how much it would cost to build such a complex or how much the security costs would be. What I do know is a 650-room hotel in central London would cost an absolute fortune.
"You would then have to heat it and light it all year round. I doubt it would work out cheaper than what MPs are costing at the moment."
Asked how the cost of MPs could be lowered, Mr Mills said more ought to stay in hotels, rather than rent out second properties.
He said: "People rent a flat for 52 weeks a year. But Parliament doesn't sit for 52 weeks. We're allowed to claim up to £150-a-night to stay in a hotel. My average is around £100-a-night.
"Most weeks, I'm in London for three nights. It works out cheaper to stay in hotels for three nights a week rather than renting a flat out all year round."
With MPs continuing to claim around £90m a year in expenses, you can be sure this is an issue that will not be going away any time soon
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