BURNLEY MP Peter Pike has hit out at the House of Commons authorities spending £83,000 on a reception desk - enough to buy at least two terrace houses in his constituency.
The desk - with an opaque glass top and limestone front - is for the multi-million pound new office accommodation for MPs at Westminster called Portcullis House.
The overall cost to house 200 MPs and their staff is expected to top £200million.
Mr Pike said:"I think the whole spending on Portcullis House has be extravagant.
"This is just an extreme example of going over the top.
"Couples in Burnley struggling to scrape together the money to but a house will not be impressed by the Commons spending enough to buy two or three such properties on a desk.
"I led the Opposition to an attempt to charge people for going round the House of Commons in the summer and this is another example of the authorities getting their priorities wrong.
"Of course, we need to build Portcullis House to a high standard but the level of spending is far too extravagant.
"It is a nonsense to have a reception desk which costs enough to buy two houses in Burnley."
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