Woolas in second home vow

Phil Woolas last night vowed to sell his home if told to under new rules to crack down on expenses if the people of Oldham re-elected him as their MP.

The Kelly inquiry, set up after the expenses scandal earlier this year, is expected to recommend a ban on taxpayer help to pay for a second homes, with MPs expected to rent instead.

Under current rules, MPs can claim mortgage interest only for their second property. It is thought MPs should rent so as not to benefit financially in the long-term from the taxpayer.

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Phil Woolas said: “I will accept whatever the Kelly review states. I do not do this job for money. I will do whatever it takes for the reputation of Oldham and if that means selling my house in London then that is what I will do.”

The Kelly report will be published on Wednesday and is widely expected to recommend:

l Axing the £10,400-a-year ‘communications allowance’, typically spent on leaflets for constituents.

l Ending the £25-a-day ‘subsistence allowance’, claimed — without a receipt — for food, when an MP is away from their main home.

l Slashing back claims for first class rail travel between London and a constituency.

l A ban on employing relatives.

l Ending the second home allowance for MPs living within an hour’s rail journey of London.