Politician's second homes...
They don't need them. They're in London to work, not play at housies.

Get them staying in something along the lines of student halls of residence.
(gordonjcp, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 17:10, 6 replies)

No, make them stay in homeless peoples hostels
and give their 2nd houses to the homeless.
(Captain Spacker I lick windows, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 17:15, closed)

Come on
Students have some standards.
( MatJ LOOK, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 17:15, closed)

Nah.
Government to compulsorily purchase land in the North Midlands (a bit up from Nottingham) and build a modern debating chamber with attached offices for MPs and government, and living accomodation for 600 MPs - Parliament to relocate here, closer to the centre of the country. Any business that relies on close contact to government can either relocate at their own expense, or just pick up the fucking phone.
Westminster Parliament complex, and Whitehall to be opened to the public as the museum it has been since the end of Empire.
Each geographical constituencies to have a compulsory purchase on a large family home somewhere within its boundaries, large enough to include space for the running of a constituency office, surgeries, etc. If the property appreciates in value, that property may be sold and the profits remain with the taxpayer alone.
Each constituency will have a secretary and assistant employed on the civil service payroll.

Anyone elected as MP for that constituency has full use of the constituency home provided for them, and the parliamentary flat provided for them, and will be reimbursed for travel between those two locations only.

They'll get a return season ticket between constituency and the new parliament, their staff salaries will all be part of the civil service budget, and they'll get a pay rise to £100k. But that's it. No pay bonus for being in government, no expenses on top (they just pay out of pocket and get reimbursed like the rest of the work force. And they get a week after they lose their seat to move themselves and their stuff out of both house and flat so the next MP can move in.

Charge all visitors to Westminster/Whitehall a quid to get in and the whole thing will pay for the capital set up costs in a decade.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 18:11, closed)

Travelodges like the rest of us cunts who've been away on business.
It might be more expensive than buying a hostel for them to share, but it'll remind them they're not special; there's nothing more souless than a travelodge.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 23:35, closed)

They tried this...
When Thatcher abolished the GLC, there was a great huge building just on the other side of Westminster Bridge.
It was big enough to be turned into into a luxury hotel type affair with about six hundred rooms for MPs who needed them, and just a hop and skip to work in the morning.

It was debated in Parliament, and soundly and vigourously rejected as being 'too expensive'.
( Joe Scaramanga with a G-double-O-D vibration, Fri 23 Sep 2011, 8:48, closed)

that's the problem
Any campus-style accommodation for serving MPs would necessarily require a large capital investment, and the public would whinge like hell about how they were paying for these people to have luxuries like microwave ovens and flushing toilets ...

So, to save all of us from all of that, we have the current system.
(slowly play it cool, Trig, Sat 24 Sep 2011, 17:51, closed)