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MPs in outer London and the Home Counties should receive free taxi rides from the House of Commons instead of a second home, a London MP has claimed.

Andrew Dismore (Lab Hendon) said MPs needed a free lift home after late-night votes when the trains stopped running.

He made the comments in a submission to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which is looking into reforms of House of Commons salaries and expenses.

Another MP, Mark Field (Lab Cities of London and Westminster) called for inner-London MPs to receive a salary bonus of £5,000 a year, to compensate for the cost of running a family home in the capital.

Others warned that MPs needed more money to pay staff, because the current allowance of £90,505 was not enough to employ the number of people needed to help constituents.

Mr Dismore called for a free taxi service for MPs who live in London or close to it, but are currently eligible for a second home allowance of £23,083.

This is likely to end, following suggestions that they could simply commute to their main home in their constituency.

He said: “At the time of preparing this letter, for example, the previous night the House finished voting at 1.30am. Several London Members were left stranded as, apart from night buses, public transport had ceased to run.

"I gave two MPs a lift home, as I had my car. It is rather ironic that House officers are provided with a taxi service home after late night divisions, a number of whom earn far more than MPs, but MPs who need it do not get this provision.”

 “I believe it would be fair to suggest that if London and home counties MPs are to lose the PAAE, then when the House rises extremely late at night, the House ought to provide a centrally paid for taxi home. This is particularly so for women MPs.”

Mr Field said inner London MPs needed higher salaries. They already receive a bonus of £7,500, on top of the standard MPs’ salary of £64,766.

He called for the allowance to be raised to £12,500, “to take account of the costs of those London members who have to make their primary, family residence here in inner London.”

David Lammy (Lab Tottenham) called for MPs to receive more money to employ staff.

He said: “My constituents are some of the most valuable and needy in the country and require a great deal of representation . . . the caseload in Tottenham is tremendous and includes many difficult child protection, housing, immigration, intimidation, crime and anti-social behaviour issues.”

He added: “I am worried that there are vulnerable people in my constituency who struggle to get through to my office because there are simply not enough staff to deal with the volume of incoming correspondence.”

MPs in areas with more casework – such as those in deprived areas – should receive more funding to pay staff, he said.

And Emily Thornberry (Lab Islington South and Finsbury) said: “Since I was elected in 2005 some 17,000 of my constituents have been in touch with me – many more than once.

“I receive about 1,000 inquiries a month, and the resources available to me thorough public finds are not sufficient to cope with my workload.

“I have been putting about half my own salary into subsidising my office for the past three years.”

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