Tories call for rethink of Parliament revamp

The Conservatives are calling for a proposed renovation of the Houses of Parliament to be paused and “refocused” over concerns about costs potentially running into the tens of billions.

MPs have been presented with proposals to refurbish the ailing Palace of Westminster, including a plan that could cost almost £40bn and take 61 years to complete.

The project team has warned delaying the restoration of the historic building, which costs £1.5m a week to maintain, would lead to “an expensive managed decline of the Palace”.

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Parliament’s restoration was “out of control” and had “turned into a basket case white elephant project”.

Badenoch said her party would oppose the current proposals if they are voted on by MPs and peers.

Badenoch’s party said the scale, scope and governance of the plans raised “serious concerns about value for money”.

The Conservatives said cost estimates had “risen dramatically over time, with completion potentially stretching across multiple decades”.

Warning of a “mission creep”, the Conservatives said what began as “a safety-led programme risks expanding into a wholesale transformation of the parliamentary estate, including extensive additional works beyond core structural remediation”.

The party has launched a public petition calling for a “fundamental rethink” of the current plans.

The Conservatives said the project should be refocused on “essential safety and structural works” and called for “stronger external oversight and transparent reporting to Parliament”.

“Parliament’s restoration project is out of control, and the public should be as angry about it as I am,” Badenoch said.

“This was meant to be essential works to keep a cherished, historic building safe and functioning. It has turned into a basket case white elephant project.”

She said taxpayers were “being asked to bankroll billions more to turn the Palace of Westminster into a Net-Zero Dubai hotel”, referring to plans to improve the building’s energy efficiency.

A UK Parliament spokesperson said the costed proposals have been put forward “to secure the future of the historic Palace of Westminster”.

The spokesperson added: “The plans focus on priorities such as the replacement and upgrade of systems including power, water, and the 1950s heating, critical improvements to fire safety, the controlled management of asbestos, and repairing damaged stonework. 

“The restoration proposals are expected to be scrutinised, considered and debated by all members of both houses to decide a way forward.”

Two options for renovating Parliament were recommended earlier this month by a committee of MPs, peers and external members known as the R&R Client Board.

MPs and peers will make the final decision on what to do, in votes that are yet to be scheduled.

The more expensive option involves moving only the House of Lords out of the building while works that could take 61 years and cost £39bn are carried out.

The other proposed option was moving MPs and peers out of the Palace of Westminster for up to 24 years from 2032, under a refurbishment plan that could cost as much as £15.6bn.

The board says a “final decision” on what to do will need to be made by mid-2030.

In the meantime, it has proposed initial works capped at £3bn over a seven-year period.

The costed options were signed off by the board in December. Minutes of their meetings show Conservative MP Jesse Norman, a member of the board and shadow leader of the House of Commons, objected to the proposals.

‘Impending crisis’

Plans to renovate Parliament have been in train for well over a decade.

The parliamentary estate – which includes the House of Commons and the Lords – is crumbling and there are concerns about the risk of a catastrophic incident, such as a fire.

A parliamentary committee report from a decade ago warned that the Palace of Westminster “faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore”.

No action was taken for years but with falling masonry, lingering asbestos, regular fires and exploding toilets, everyone agrees the work needs to be done.

However, there is no consensus on the way forward.

The Labour government – which has a large majority in the House of Commons – has not yet indicated its position on the latest proposals.

A government spokesperson said the work “must be done in a way that maximises value for money for the taxpayer”.

The spokesperson said the government would consider the report’s findings and schedule a debate in both houses of Parliament in “due course”.

Liberal Democrats said their MPs would be free to vote how they want on the proposals.

Lib Dem MP Marie Goldman said: “Lib Dems of course don’t want to see a UNESCO World Heritage site like Parliament crumble into the Thames – and will always support value for taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

But the Green Party of England and Wales said it favoured the option to move both MPs and peers out of the building while work is done – known as a “full decant”.

Green MP Ellie Chowns said: “It is clear the Palace of Westminster is not fit for purpose in its current condition, and action must be taken sooner rather than later.

“The Green Party’s view on restoration works is clear: the priority must be to get the repairs done as quickly, safely, and cost-effectively as possible, with proper regard for the public purse and fair consideration of the working conditions of everyone who keeps Parliament running.”

Reform UK has not stated its position on the R&R programme.