The Palace of Westminster faces critical repairs for decayed wiring and piping that have plagued its basement since the 2000s, coming on the heels of £80m overhauls for both Big Ben and the palace roof. Public accounts committee chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has cautioned that the site risks a catastrophe akin to the Notre-Dame blaze if lawmakers do not approve initial work. Even if an initial phase moves forward, a binding decision on actual construction delivery is postponed until 2030. These protracted delays have sparked proposals to permanently convert the palace into a museum and relocate parliament outside London.
Key points
Severe logistical delays mean a definitive decision on parliament's construction and deli…: Severe logistical delays mean a definitive decision on parliament's construction and delivery phase will not take place until 2030.
Institutional paralysis and soaring restoration estimates have prompted serious proposals…: Institutional paralysis and soaring restoration estimates have prompted serious proposals to permanently move the UK parliament to cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, or Birmingham.
The projected restoration budget of £40bn represents roughly 500 times the cost required…: The projected restoration budget of £40bn represents roughly 500 times the cost required to complete the palace roof replacement.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
What is the most reactionary public institution in Britain, the most outdated and immune to reform? It is the one that orders us to keep changing: parliament. It is also the most wildly extravagant. When the issue is hospitals, prisons and care homes, austerity is often the answer. When it comes to its own premises, only the best will do.
Big Ben has recently been restored at a cost of £80m and the entire Palace of Westminster has been reroofed for another £80m. Back in the 2000s, the basement was also reportedly much in need of repair. Its piping and wiring were so decayed they would fail within five to 10 years. Various committees debated and dithered, and eventually invited London’s most pukka consultants, Deloitte, to estimate what needed doing, which published its findings in 2014.
The building, it recommended, should become a construction site for between six and 32 years at a cost of between £3.5bn and £5.7bn. These estimates depended on how far and for how long the two Houses of Parliament were prepared to go elsewhere. Since…
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