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Calls to host Parliament in Wolverhampton

Parliament should be moved out of London and turned into hundreds of affordable flats, a pressure group said today.

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But while Generation Rent wants the Commons and Lords moved to Hull, MPs in Wolverhampton would rather see it come to the West Midlands if it is to go anywhere.

The Palace of Westminster is old and in need of major repair and the actor Brian Cox has already mooted Wolverhampton as a potential replacement venue because of the benefit it would bring to the Midlands.

Generation Rent claims turning the building into 364 affordable flats would help meet demands for housing in the capital.

And it claims a move to Hull would save taxpayers £120 million over five years because rent is much cheaper there and MPs could get better deals on their second homes.

Although there is no chance of Westminster becoming flats, there are ongoing debates over the billions of pounds worth of work needed to deal with the renovations on the Victorian building.

Around 335 MPs rent second homes and claim expenses, costing the taxpayer £5.26m in 2013. It also costs more to employ people in London.

If Parliament were located in a cheaper part of the country, Generation Rent claims, there would be savings of £20m in reduced employment costs, and the creation of 5,000 jobs. Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, said: "I'm told Parliament needs a lot of renovation work, which will mean the need to decamp MPs for at least a couple of years.

"There's a strong argument for the Midlands as a temporary site as it is in easy reach of other parts of the country."

Emma Reynolds, MP for Wolverhampton North East, added: "I can certainly see the logic of moving Parliament out of London. I think Wolverhampton, given its geographical location, would be a perfect place to locate the House of Commons."

Paul Uppal, MP for Wolverhampton South West, said: "A couple of my colleagues have said how much sense it would make to base Parliament in the middle of the country.

"It will save money and will do the whole country a lot of good for MPs to be based where they will regularly hear some Black Country common sense."

Alex Hilton, director of Generation Rent, said: "Renters are being crushed by high rents, poor conditions and almost no security of tenure.

"With their generous rent allowances from the taxpayer, MPs are cocooned from the housing crisis so they're largely indifferent to the plight of renters.

"One way our politicians could bear their share of austerity is if we relocated Parliament to the least expensive part of the country.

"We hope our proposal gives MPs a sense of humility and some urgency to ending the housing crisis."

Last year Brian Cox, who has been on the big screen in X-Men 2, said: "The best thing that could happen to London would be if Parliament were to be moved to Wolverhampton."

The 67-year-old added: "The Houses of Parliament could become nice Peabody Trust housing and be a really lovely place to live for people who couldn't otherwise afford London. That would be wonderful."

"MPs living in London led to the expenses scandal. They were fiddling their expenses because prices are crazy and they couldn't afford to live.

"Moving MPs to Wolverhampton would stop that," he added.

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