MPs vote to keep "John Lewis list" expenses

By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - Members of Parliament threw out proposals to reform their expenses on Thursday and voted to retain the so-called "John Lewis list" of housing allowances.

They also rejected plans for independent spot checks on the amounts of expenses they claimed.

The surprise move undermines attempts to modernise expenses practices in the House of Commons.

The rejected proposals were among recommendations by a special Commons committee which had sought to draw a line under recent controversy over allowances.

The vote means that MPs will be able to continue charging up to 24,000 pounds a year for the "additional costs" of running a second home away from their constituency so that they can attend Parliament.

The official list of items such as new kitchens and televisions that MPs can claim for their second homes was revealed in March after a Freedom of Information request.

It has been dubbed the "John Lewis list" as many of the maximum allowances are based on prices from the department store.

In its place the committee had recommended that MPs staying away from their constituency should be able to claim up to 19,600 pounds a year as an overnight allowance.