Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Lindsay Razaq: Move away from Westminster would bring Parliament back to the people

Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London (PA Wire)
Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London (PA Wire)

When I tell people I work at a palace, they are routinely impressed.

If I recount the day when my colleague bravely caught a mouse in an upturned dustbin, the reaction is less positive.

But Westminster’s resident rodents are the least of its worries – it’s no secret many of the estate’s structures are crumbling.

According to the official UK Parliament website, the heating, ventilation, water, drainage and electrical systems are all antiquated.

Improvements to fire safety are also needed and asbestos is present throughout.

The list goes on.

Later this year, a joint Commons and Lords select committee is due to publish its recommendations on how the restoration programme should go forward.

The committee is considering three options, set out in a 2015 independent report, the cheapest and quickest of which – at £3.5-£3.9 billion – would involve a relocation for around six years.

The other options are a partial relocation, taking around 11 years at a cost of between £3.9 and £4.4 billion, or a rolling programme over an estimated 32 years for some £5.7 billion.

In these straitened times, the numbers are eye-watering, prompting calls for MPs to leave the historic premises altogether.

Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru’s treasury spokesman, has said to spend that kind of money would be an act of “political debauchery”.

He wants MPs to have the option of transferring permanently to a new location when they vote on how to proceed.

There is certainly the opportunity there to reconnect with frustrated voters who feel let down by the establishment, as well as a chance to modernise.

One way of doing this would be to move outside of London.

This would signify a real commitment to decentralisation and there would be the added benefit of encouraging investment outside the capital, thus helping to rebalance the economy away from the south-east of England. Being closer to the geographical centre of the UK would perhaps also be more fitting for the UK Parliament.

Additionally, a move could ensure a seat for every MP and enable electronic voting – ending the laborious, time-consuming and occasionally error-prone process of counting members through the ‘Aye’ and ‘No’ lobbies.

Such steps would go a long way to ending the gentleman’s club atmosphere that prevails both in the chamber and wider estate.

And this in turn would make the institution seem more accessible, like the Scottish Parliament.

Those who argue for staying in the current venue point to the history and tradition. Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the site, dates back to 1099, although there was a complete rebuild in the 19th century after a fire in 1834 and extensive repairs following bomb damage in World War II.


READ MORE

Lindsay Razaq: Let’s end the immigration blame game

Lindsay Razaq: Parties must grow up and tackle bullying head-on