Houses of Parliament to be vacated in £3.5bn restoration

[-:Undertaker:-]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...bn-restoration

MPs set to leave Palace of Westminster for £3.5bn restoration

MPs vote to back total refurbishment with Lords expected to follow

No suggestion at all that the Palace is showing its age... pic.twitter.com/k7KJZfqW5l

— Lord Norton of Louth (@LordNortonLouth) January 31, 2018

Parliament is to relocate away from its historic site at the Palace of Westminster in the next decade after MPs decided that the risk of a major fire was so great that a total refurbishment costing at least £3.5bn was necessary.

MPs voted by 236 to 220 to support an amendment that saw Conservative and Labour members come together to support a full programme of works that is likely to result in the Commons relocating to a venue in Whitehall from the middle of the next decade.

They backed an amendment from the Labour MP Meg Hillier and rejected two motions in the name of leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom. Neither of those motions would have committed MPs and peers to moving off site.

It would be the first time either house had moved out of the Victorian-era palace since the Commons chamber was destroyed by a bomb in 1941. Under the plan, the Commons and Lords would move off site in 2025 for an estimated six years.

The Commons would move to Richmond House, on nearby Whitehall, and the Lords would relocate to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. The Lords will have to vote on the proposals before they are confirmed, but the upper house is expected to follow the Commons’ lead.

During a three-hour debate MPs issued a series of dire warnings about the safety of the Palace of Westminster, where around 8,000 people work and a million people visit each year. There were, however, sharp disagreements on whether MPs should be voting to spend money on an expensive relocation.

Hooray! 2025 though is still too far away though in my opinion. From everything I have read, the building is in serious need of a restoration project from the sewerage systems to the heating to the electrics to the decor - literally every nook and cranny is going to have to be looked at. They're currently employing - and this is no joke - people to patrol the Palace 24/7 to look for fires. It's that bad. I visited last year or the year before and it does look grubby, far from the splendid grand Victorian palace you see on television.

Canada recently did the same with it's very similar Parliament complex and the works are coming to a close in the next few years. It looks great what they've done and secured the buildings for another 50 to 100 years. Moving out and getting the job done properly was the right thing to do!

Thoughts?

[lawrawrrr]

From a ceremonial traditional perspective it’s not great but really doES IT MATTER the building is falling apart and definitely needs some work done. End of the day it’s a hugely important historical building and it’s important to restore it.

Although I am sad the bars will be closed they’re so good and cheap


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk