MPs quitting UK parliament for restoration ‘would cost £15B’
https://www.politico.eu/article/mp-quitting-uk-parliament-westminster-restoration-cost-15b/
Posted by 457655676
MPs quitting UK parliament for restoration ‘would cost £15B’
https://www.politico.eu/article/mp-quitting-uk-parliament-westminster-restoration-cost-15b/
Posted by 457655676
39 Comments
Well. Fixing the Houses of Parliament needs to happen.
It can’t be put off much longer.
Guy Fawkes wasn’t able to destroy it; be a shame if it became a burnt-out wreck because of institutional constipation.
Ok. How much will it cost if we delay it by a decade? Two decades? Three decades?
Simply saying it’s expensive isn’t important. The value of doing it doesn’t change. The cost does.
So do it now. Or at least try and do it now so you can blame the refuseniks when it inevitably costs more in the long run.
Longer it’s delayed the more it will cost as kicking this down the road for years on end has proven.
‘£15bn on a building? Just move!’ is a likely retort and to some extent is fair (and will happen), but the building will still need to be repaired any way whether it is used or not.
>Successive governments have delayed the wholesale renovation of parliament amid fears of a public backlash over the cost. It was estimated at between £7 billion and £13 billion in 2022, but has since risen.
Ain’t that just a microcosm for British Government of both parties for decades now? Essential maintenance needed, it’ll only get more expensive the longer you put it off, but it’s too expensive right now and hopefully by the time it fails catastrophically you’ll be comfortably retired to the private consultancy / after-dinner speaking circuit and it’ll be someone else whose career gets taken down with it.
I was given a tour of the HP by a senior engineer for the restoration 5-6 years ago. Was one of the most fascinating afternoons of my adult life, just hearing about the absolutely astounding complexity of it all, and all of the different options, their massive tradeoffs, and creative solutions being considered.
One of the funniest things we were told was that one of the big reasons for the reluctance amongst the “full decant” option discussed in this article, was the worry that if you move the MPs to a sensibly designed modern debating chamber with enough seats for everyone etc., no one will want to move back when it’s done!
Could they not just remote in like they did during COVID and focus on their constituencies in between Zoom calls?
Turn the Palace of Westminster into a musuem and move Parliament somewhere outside of London
Parliament isn’t a building, and sat in numerous places before the Palace was built and the current structure isn’t fit for purpose.
A musuem could at least make back some money on any restoration work and gettig MPs outside of London would be a boon for the country
Build a new one in Manchester or York for about 5% of the cost.
That sounds cheaper than them being inside when it finally falls down on their heads and needs completely replaced.
>One of the main options for restoration of the Palace of Westminster could cost £15 billion, a member of the House of Lords has claimed.
>Successive governments have delayed the wholesale renovation of parliament amid fears of a public backlash over the cost. It was estimated at between £7 billion and £13 billion in 2022, but has since risen.
>Proponents of full decant argue it is the safest and most cost-effective option, and would last 19 to 28 years, compared with an estimated 48 years to 76 years if lawmakers remain on the site during reconstruction.
Would be nice if they could actually explain why exactly it would take so long and cost so much.
It will be more expensive to fix it after the huge fire that destroys it
They should turn it into a living museum, with reenactments, theme park rides and amusements, cafeterias and small popup shops where you can get your photo taken and turned into a Spitting Image character talking to Norman Tebbit – by AI.
I’m sure Americans would love it. I would too quite honestly.
There could be thing where you have to bang the Gavel and shout Order! Order! And you can win a soft toy asylum seeker. 🧸
All for a good cause.
Set up a temporary hub using porta cabins. Somewhere like Milton Keynes (no offence to Milton Keynes, just selected as a new town nearby). Host parliament there. The refurb will be the fastest, most efficient refurb in the history of the Uk.
Should be ran from a modern building. The fact we are still in parliament and its not a museum is just indicative of the UKs unwillingness to progress and reform itself.
If they say it’ll last 19 to 28 years and cost 15 Billion then we all know it will be 40 – 60 years and cost 45B.
Move them to a fit for purpose building and make Westminster a museum. Whilst they’re at it, build an accommodation block so they don’t all need second homes. Nothing too fancy, just what most business travellers would expect at a mid range hotel.
Those that live within a commutable distance commute and build in the technology to make it hybrid so they can vote and debate from their constituency which is where they supposed to serve. Some events such as state opening and some of the bigger votes should be in person.
We’re redoing our entire parliament here in Canada it is like halfway through the entire process. There are a couple videos about the restoration I recommend looking them up it is amazing.
I think there are plenty of big buildings in cities in the North / Scotland that could accomodate our beloved and illustrious parliamentarians. Furthermore, the prostitutes and cocaine dealers in these cities would enjoy a well earned windfall.
It’s going to take up to 28 years even without them in there? That’s crazy.
Yeah, but how much will it cost over the course of the next decade in extra maintenance and fire precautions to make sure it doesn’t burn down?
Pretty wild if they fully decant. Almost none of the current mps would remain to move back in. A whole new generation who had never sat in the old Parliament.
No reason they can’t work remotely from their constituency office. It would save a lot of expenses claims
Just do parliament remotely, it’ll be hilarious. And a lot cheaper.
I had a family friend working on the consultancy for this project a decade ago when it was already being discussed. To be clear, the bill would be much higher if the MPs stayed in place while the work was being done, which was the option they were calling for at the time.
Build a purpose built modern parliament somewhere else in the nation (anywhere, just not London). A Parliament that can actually fit all the MPs. Then move Parliament to the new venue, renovate the old one and turn the old one into a museum.
Just do it in a school hall I always thought they should have it rotating through the country so people can see it
Every time MPs bawk at the cost of a project, be it Hs2, a mass transit for West Yorkshire or restoring our parliament, they grumble about the cost, kick it into the long grass and hope some miracle happens where the cost reduces and in reality, the project is still needed/desired and the cost increases for every day of delay.
I look forward to the next government to do and inquiry, costing £2bn for their mates, finds it need to be done just before a new government comes in after them and has to progress it long enough for the next brick to be shat and a further review and we the people get nothing but a bill to their mates
How on earth does it cost that much?
For comparison, we built BOTH our aircraft carriers for around half of that (around ~£7.5bn in today’s money for both of them).
Move them to a remote town that doesn’t have a regular bus service. Let them experience high train fares and poor infrastructure first hand.
It needs doing… Much as I loath the cost, I’d rather it be fixed than collapse into the river, we’d just gotten the water fairly clean, we don’t want the Political Establishment’s sewage in it.
Besides, like all massive projects, it’s not £15Billion in one go, it’s £15 Billion over whole project… Hell, it might generate more Growth for the Country and skill labourers than anything else. 😀
Sell it for luxury apartments. Construct a purpose built building with an attached dormitory block somewhere on the outskirts of Birmingham, or Manchester (Or perhaps Leeds?) with the proceeds.
Problem solved. With the added bonus that we no longer need to fund second homes for MPs as they have a room in the same building, meaning that they are available for votes and sudden emergencies.
£4B less than what was fraudulently claimed in COVID loans. I’m sure some of Nigel’s friends can help cover the rest with a ‘donation’.
im pretty surprised by how many people in the comments want it demolished
Solution – a purpose built parliament is made in the Midlands while the old building is restored and turned into a tourist attraction.
Lambeth palace was recently restored. It took 3 years and cost £40Mil. Obviously a much smaller project but they did a full decant except for about 20-30 core staff and a few flats that were left.
Just fly Parliament out to the replica that’s bound to have been built in China. They have replicated just about every notable building in the world I expect.
Take while to rack up £15Bn
Build a new one in a rundown part of the country. Cheaper accommodation for the MPs, boosts the local economy and the money saved could be put to better use.
pulli it down and rebuild something better… the building too
Will be 15 billion with an escalating cost of 5 billion a year if you compare it to other projects.
The longer theyt leave it the more expensive it gets as the building fucking collapses.
it was 2 billion in 2010 for them to move out and fix it, something like 7 in 2020 and now it’s 15 in 2025.
Bite the fucking bullet and fix it properly.