Olympic Village 'could house MPs'

The TaxPayers' Alliance said Commons authorities could obtain permanent homes for the 572 MPs from outside London at the Stratford site for around £110 million after the Games have finished.

MPs could still claim for utility bills and council tax, but the move would mean the virtual abolition of the £11.5 million-a-year second homes allowance, as taxpayers' money would no longer be spent on rent and mortgage interest payments.

Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott said the scheme would pay for itself within 10 years, and could be expected to provide a handsome profit for taxpayers if house prices return to growth.

The Olympic Village in east London will come with security already in place and MPs would benefit from the existing transport links to central London, the rest of Britain and continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel. They could even car-share when travelling to and from Westminster, to cut their carbon footprint and travel expenses.

Mr Elliott said: "We have been paying for MPs to build their property empires for too long. 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."

The £1 billion Olympic Village project has failed to attract private financing, and the construction of around 3,000 homes of various sizes is being funded by the state, with social landlords Triathlon Homes expected to pay £268 million for 1,400 units to provide affordable housing after the Games are over.

Mr Elliot said that the price being paid by Triathlon suggested a market value of £191,500 per unit - making a total of £110 million for 572 homes. Housing MPs in the development would increase the value of the remaining 1,000 homes when they were sold off by the state, he added.

In Sweden, MPs are already housed in around 250 apartments owned by the Stockholm Parliament.