Parliament Is Crumbling

[ChillDoubt]

no, not under the UKIP onslaught. It needs repairing apparently. Cost? An eye-watering £3 billion.
No, that's not a typo, it is a 'b' not an 'm' before the illion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30137334

Should be ok though, we can spend the money we've saved on not paying that EU fine. Oh wait......

[douglas9401]

All things must pass.
Now don't DARE spend that obscene amount of money on that piggery. Snuffling at the trough as per.

[Zacs-Master]

As total gov spending in 2013 was 674 billion, this equates to 0.44%. Let's not get all 'daily mail' outraged.

[douglas9401]

Percentages be damned. It's three billion pounds to tart up a rotting building

[-Talbot-]

They could recoup most of it by turning it into apartments.

[ChillDoubt]

I agree douglas. Revered though it is and its status as part of the fabric of these isles is beyond question, an annual bill of £30 million on top of the estimate means that the question of a whole new building must be given consideration.
That is on the proviso that the architects of the Scottish and Welsh parliament buildings are not considered for the job!

[Svejk]

Yeah, and the billion pound (of borrowed money) we gift in foreign aid, every month, is only .7% of GDP. Everything is a mere trifle.

[Buffalo-Bill]

@ChillDoubt Enric Miralles would need to do it via the ouija board, that's bound to put the cost up.

[bazwillrun]

thats ok, take it out of the money we throw away to our slave/paymasters in europe

[Svejk]

UK government fig tree scandal.

[Svejk]

Oops. Meant to say, I hope they don't get this lot in.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9082565/Taxpayer-spends-400000-on-fig-trees-for-MPs.html

[ludwig]

// Parliamentary authorities are spending more than £32,500 per year on renting just 12 fig trees from a private company called Plant Care.//

It's ridiculous that this should be spent annually on 12 trees. A single workshy person could be maintained for the same amount.

[mushroom25]

why should parliament be any different to any other company? move them to a big shed warehouse office by junction 12 of the M1 then flog the riverside site for development.

[Deskdiary]

I'd hate to see the building sold for development, or turned into apartments or whatever other silly ideas may be mentioned.

I've been to the House many many times and it is a fantastic building, plus when you add in what the building represents and the business that is conducted therein, if we simply tore it down, or turned it in apartments or whatever, we will be losing a massive part of our history.

Plus I simply do not believe that it would take £3,000m - but even if it did, I think that would be money well spent.

[VHG]

While I love the parliament building, it is not fit for purpose.

When the house of commons is full for a debate you have MPs sitting on the stairs, and standing in the corridors.

Surely there are health and safety concerns with so many people crammed in such a small space (how quickly could they get out if there was a fire !).

I bet no private company would be allowed to cram so many people in a room that size.

They missed a trick when they developed the site opposite parliament (Portcullis House) for MPs offices, they should have made that the new parliament and opened the old parliament building for tourists.

You cant move the MPs out to J12 of the M1 (or anywhere else some distance away) as all the civil servants are in the buildings nearby which helps oil the wheels of government.

[ladybirder]

Easily solved. Reduce the number of MPs.

[Old_Geezer]

I hope they got more than one quote.

[mushroom25]

//You cant move the MPs out to J12 of the M1 (or anywhere else some distance away) as all the civil servants are in the buildings nearby which helps oil the wheels of government. //

many companies now tele-work with their key staff. the tasks of non-key staff are now contracted out; eg our company no longer has an IT department but is looked after by a service company headquartered in Bulgaria. why should parliament resist the wind of change?

[Prudie]

It's about the building, not the people inside and must be saved. £3 billion is eye-watering to us but a tiny figure for Govt to spend + of course that £3 billion will pass back into our economy - unless we give the contract to an overseas company :-)

[DTCwordfan]

well if they had used a decent building stone rather than that Yorkshire Anston muck that they built a lot of the building with.....

[DTCwordfan]

As to the trees, it has to be said, 'who gives a Fig?'