Gordon Brown and David Cameron have urged their parties to accept in full a shake-up of parliamentary expenses which could save the taxpayer millions of pounds a year and leave some MPs tens of thousands out of pocket.
The long-awaited report from Sir Christopher Kelly’s committee on standards in public life called for an end to MPs claiming mortgage interest payments on expenses and employing family members from the public purse.
The prime minister immediately wrote to Sir Christopher welcoming his proposals, while Mr Cameron told the Commons they should be “accepted in full”.
For the Liberal Democrats, David Heath said the changes should be implemented “without equivocation”.
Sir Christopher’s inquiry was launched in March amid widespread outrage over a series of Westminster expenses scandals. Its key recommendations include giving the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority the power to determine the pay and pensions of MPs as well as their expenses.
In future, MPs should only be able to claim for rent or hotel costs, not mortgages, and the allowance system should cover items like council tax, utility and phone bills at second homes, but not cleaning, gardening and furnishings.
MPs with constituencies within “reasonable commuting distance” of parliament – expected to stretch further from Westminster than the 20-mile radius already being introduced in 2010 – should no longer be able to claim for a second home at all.
The practice of “flipping” second homes to maximise expenses claims should be ended and only MPs staying in hotels should receive the £25-a-night food allowance.
Existing claims for mortgage interest should be halted by the end of the next parliament, or within five years, said the committee. Any equity gain should be returned to the taxpayer.
And MPs were also given the same transitional period to stop employing members of their own families as parliamentary assistants.
In a significant scaling back of other expenses, the Kelly report recommended the scrapping of the £10,400-a-year communications allowance and said resettlement payments, worth £64,766, should be reduced for MPs who stand down voluntarily at an election. MPs forced out of parliament after being caught fiddling the expenses system could also be stripped of their “golden handshake”.
MPs will be allowed to undertake outside work within “reasonable limits” but will be barred from “double-jobbing” – sitting both at Westminster and in a devolved assembly.
Sir Christopher said that his blueprint was “fair and reasonable” and would bring the House of Commons into line with other walks of life and other legislatures.
And there were only muted protests at Westminster. Conservative MP Roger Gale said that there were parts of the report which did not stand up to “close scrutiny”, such as a proposal for an accommodation agency to help MPs find rented homes.
Sir Ian said IPSA would start work immediately, drawing up a plan for a “fair and effective” expenses system based on Kelly’s recommendations, for implementation in the spring.
MPs will have no vote on IPSA’s plans, though they will be asked to approve Sir Ian’s nomination. Commons Speaker John Bercow warned MPs not to use IPSA’s consultation period to pick holes in the Kelly framework, saying: “The public would not look kindly on anything which was perceived as deliberate procrastination.”