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Houses of Parliament will have to be abandoned without £3bn renovation Houses of Parliament will have to be abandoned without £3bn renovation
(about 14 hours later)
The Houses of Parliament will have to be abandoned unless huge sums are spent over the next decade to renovate the crumbling building, the Commons Speaker John Bercow has warned.The Houses of Parliament will have to be abandoned unless huge sums are spent over the next decade to renovate the crumbling building, the Commons Speaker John Bercow has warned.
The cost to taxpayer of restoring the Palace of Westminster, which has not been refurbished since repairs to war damage in the 1940s, has been estimated at more than £3bn. The scale of the task is so vast that MPs and peers could have to move out for five years to allow the work to be completed.The cost to taxpayer of restoring the Palace of Westminster, which has not been refurbished since repairs to war damage in the 1940s, has been estimated at more than £3bn. The scale of the task is so vast that MPs and peers could have to move out for five years to allow the work to be completed.
Mr Bercow called for the authorities to face up to the issue, predicting that the Victorian building would become unusable in less than 20 years unless it underwent a massive and expensive overhaul.Mr Bercow called for the authorities to face up to the issue, predicting that the Victorian building would become unusable in less than 20 years unless it underwent a massive and expensive overhaul.
Referring to the 1834 blaze which destroyed almost all of the old palace of Westminster, he said: “It would be a huge pity if we decided that by the time we had reached the 200th anniversary of the vast fire which consumed the old parliament and brought this one in to being, we had to abandon this site and look elsewhere in order to serve the public interest properly.Referring to the 1834 blaze which destroyed almost all of the old palace of Westminster, he said: “It would be a huge pity if we decided that by the time we had reached the 200th anniversary of the vast fire which consumed the old parliament and brought this one in to being, we had to abandon this site and look elsewhere in order to serve the public interest properly.
“Yet I will tell you in all candour that unless management of the very highest quality and a not inconsequential sum of public money are deployed on this estate over the next 10 years, that will be the outcome.”“Yet I will tell you in all candour that unless management of the very highest quality and a not inconsequential sum of public money are deployed on this estate over the next 10 years, that will be the outcome.”
John Bercow has predicted that the Houses of Parliament could become unusable in less than 20 years unless action is taken (Getty)
Speaking in Westminster, Mr Bercow argued that the reputation of Parliament was recovering from the nadir of the expenses scandal of 2009 and that procedural reforms had begun to make it more relevant to voters. But he said further changes were essential to make it more in tune with the public.Speaking in Westminster, Mr Bercow argued that the reputation of Parliament was recovering from the nadir of the expenses scandal of 2009 and that procedural reforms had begun to make it more relevant to voters. But he said further changes were essential to make it more in tune with the public.
He called for changes after the election to the “currently embarrassing character” of Prime Minister’s Questions. John Bercow has predicted that the Houses of Parliament could become unusable in less than 20 years unless action is taken (Getty) He called for changes after the election to the “currently embarrassing character” of Prime Minister’s Questions.
“My submission, supported anecdotally wherever I go around the country and by some polling evidence, is that the public disapprove of the decibel level and orchestrated barracking.“My submission, supported anecdotally wherever I go around the country and by some polling evidence, is that the public disapprove of the decibel level and orchestrated barracking.
“Put simply, if the party leaders want conduct on a Wednesday lunchtime to improve, it will. Post-election there will be an opportunity to achieve change the public would welcome,” he said.“Put simply, if the party leaders want conduct on a Wednesday lunchtime to improve, it will. Post-election there will be an opportunity to achieve change the public would welcome,” he said.