Risk of death in crumbling Parliament prompts MPs to vote to relocate

A multi-billion pound refurbishment is needed to make the heart of democracy in the UK safe again

(FILES) This file photo taken on November 01, 2017 shows a bird flying in front of scaffolding around the Elizabeth Tower, commonly called Big Ben, during ongoing renovations to the Tower and the Houses of Parliament, in central London on November 1, 2017. Bed bugs, leaky sewers, fire hazards: Britain's iconic parliament building is in urgent need of drastic repair after years of delays by lawmakers worried about costs and having to move out. At a parliamentary debate on on January 31, 2018, MPs will debate and vote on different options, including the possibility of a full relocation to carry out an overhaul of the famous Palace of Westminster, which includes the Houses of Parliament and the clock tower (Elizabeth Tower) housing Big Ben. / AFP PHOTO / Chris J Ratcliffe
Sanya burgess
Feb 1, 2018

British politicians will move out of the crumbling historic Palace of Westminster for the first time since World War II after MPs decided the risk of injury and death was so great that a £3.5 billion refurbishment was urgently needed.

With one MP admitting that she had been forced to call the emergency services after ash from a suspected fire came through her office ceiling and another saying the extensive metalwork holding up the building reminded him of the coal mine he used to work in, MPs have voted to support a substantial programme of works to restore the Houses of Parliament.

MPs could move out for six years with the relocation expected to take place in 2025, three years after the next general election which is scheduled for 2022.

The revamp is highly controversial, with many criticising the eye-watering costs of the work and relocation efforts.

A handout picture released by the UK Parliament on January 30, 2018 and taken on April 24, 2014 shows one of the 100 plant rooms in the basement of the Palace of Westminster in London. British lawmakers were set to deabte the proposed restoration of the Palace of Westminster, the historic palace that houses the UK Houses of Parliament. A parliamentary report published in 2016 recommended that lawmakers should move out of the crumbling building while it is renovated to avert a crisis. Behind its neo-Gothic facades topped by the world-famous Big Ben clock tower, the mother of parliaments has been eroded by air pollution, overrun with mice and crumbling, prompting warnings it may have to be permanently abandoned unless urgent renovations are carried out costing billions of pounds. / AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS SPECIFICALLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE AFP STORY BY JOE JACKSON DATED JAN 31, 2018 - NO ARCHIVE - RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIPTION USE - NO SALES - NO USE ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM - NOT TO BE ADAPTED ALTERED OR MANIPULATED / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JOE JACKSON

One of the 100 plant rooms in the basement of the Palace of Westminster in London. AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT / HO

Much of the external stonework is crumbling, heavy rain causes substantial leaks, a number of the 4,000 windows need restoring and years of ad hoc cabling will need to be redeveloped. In 2016, £130,000 was spent on tackling parliament’s mice and moth infestation.

In what is being seen in the British press as another embarrassment for the embattled prime minister, the MPs rejected Theresa May’s preferred option to delay the decision.

Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom opened the three-hour debate and said there had been 60 incidents in the past 10 years that could have caused a serious fire.

“The likelihood of a major failure grows the longer the systems are left unaddressed.”

Chris Bryant MP said the palace was heated by a high-pressure steam heating system that “could burst at any time”, and urged MPs to support a “full and timely decant” of the Commons and Lords.

Read more: Senior minister and Brexiteer backs May following leadership questions

The free vote saw MPs voted by 236 to 220 to support a full programme of works that is likely to result in the Commons relocating to Richmond House, a nearby building in Whitehall currently used by the Department of Health. The Times reports that it has been unoccupied since November 2017 when hundreds of civil servants moved out to make way for the parliamentarians.

The Lords would relocate to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, a five-minute walk from the current Parliament building. The peers are expected to follow the Commons’ lead and approve the proposals in their upcoming vote.

Calls for a board to be established to maintain an oversight of the plan to renovate the palace were also approved.

Around 8,000 people work in the Palace of Westminster, with a million people visiting each year.

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.

A handout picture released by the UK Parliament on January 30, 2018 and taken on April 24, 2014 shows a view of general dilapidation of exterior stonework in Cloister Court at the Palace of Westminster in Londonin 2014. British lawmakers were set to deabte the proposed restoration of the Palace of Westminster, the historic palace that houses the UK Houses of Parliament. A parliamentary report published in 2016 recommended that lawmakers should move out of the crumbling building while it is renovated to avert a crisis. Behind its neo-Gothic facades topped by the world-famous Big Ben clock tower, the mother of parliaments has been eroded by air pollution, overrun with mice and crumbling, prompting warnings it may have to be permanently abandoned unless urgent renovations are carried out costing billions of pounds. / AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS SPECIFICALLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE AFP STORY BY JOE JACKSON DATED JAN 31, 2018 - NO ARCHIVE - RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIPTION USE - NO SALES - NO USE ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM - NOT TO BE ADAPTED ALTERED OR MANIPULATED / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JOE JACKSON

The exterior stonework in Cloister Court at the Palace of Westminster has become dilapidated. AFP PHOTO / UK PARLIAMENT / HO

A potted history of Parliament

1016 King canute began building a royal household where the Palace of Westminster stands today.

1605 Guy Fawkes famously tries to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. He was caught at the last minute and was executed for his attempt.

1649 King Charles I was sentenced to death in Westminster Hall

1834 A fire destroyed most of the Palace after a stove caught aflame

1941 Bombs struck Parliament on May 10, 1941, hitting the House of Commons chamber and the Westminster Hall. The Hall was saved at the expense of the camber, which was destroyed

1950 Rebuilding work is completed. MPs debated in the Lords while work was carried out and peers moved into another area of the Palace

2000 Portcullis House, where MP offices are located was completed

EuropeUKWorld
EDITOR'S PICKS
NEWSLETTERS
MORE FROM THE NATIONAL
An image that illustrates this article Turkey warns that France-Greece defence pact weakens Nato
An image that illustrates this article Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini stands trial in migrant rescue case
An image that illustrates this article Cop26: Summit president says getting a deal will 'definitely be harder' than Paris talks
An image that illustrates this article London property faces supply squeeze as taxes and planning rules scare off developers