A plan by SNP MP Angus MacNeil to allow MPs to �vote in their slippers� from the comfort of home when the journey to London is impossible has been dismissed as an attempt to turn Westminster into an X Factor-style television game show.

A plan by SNP MP Angus MacNeil to allow MPs to "vote in their slippers" from the comfort of home when the journey to London is impossible has been dismissed as an attempt to turn Westminster into an X Factor-style television game show.

Mr MacNeil, the Western Isles MP, faces the longest commute of all MPs, claiming £37,000 a year to travel backwards and forwards from his constituency home on Barra, where he grew up.

Frustrated by constant delays on his weekly odyssey - consisting of two flights, a ferry journey and a minibus ride - Mr MacNeil has tabled a parliamentary motion calling for a "limited number of opportunities during each parliamentary year to vote remotely on divisions in the House" when weather or technical issues prevent attendance.

Marching through the division lobbies in the Commons is regarded as sacrosanct in Westminster but the MP insisted his proposal was serious, adding that it could help reduce Westminster's carbon footprint.

It was ridiculed by rival MPs. Jim Sheridan, chair of the Scottish Labour group, said there was no place for MPs to behave like participants in a TV game show.

"Westminster is not X Factor and Mr MacNeil is no Simon Cowell," said Mr Sheridan.

"It is unacceptable for MPs to sit at home and vote when they should be scrutinising and holding the government to account. If he feels the job is too much for him he should step aside for someone more enthusiastic."