By BAGEHOT
ON TUESDAY the clerk of the House of Commons warned that the proposed repairs to the Houses of Parliament would cost even more than estimated. David Natzler’s intervention was just the latest indication of the battles to come. Another was the news, last month, that the Parliamentary vote on repairs to the Palace of Westminster had been delayed again. Eventually MPs will have to make several difficult decisions. For how long should they move out? How much can this reasonably cost? At what point does the cost of keeping the Palace working become untenable?
The vast Victorian complex by the Thames is in a dreadful state. It is riddled with asbestos, many of its windows are broken, its pipes are leaky and its spaghetti-like wiring is a fire hazard. The mainstream option is to move both houses of Parliament, Commons and Lords, out for a period of up to eight years. If this goes ahead the repairs are estimated to cost £4bn ($5bn) plus the cost of temporary accommodation. One option is to cover the courtyard of the Department of Health and use that as a debating chamber.
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