Blasted MPs must commit to Palace of Westminster refurb

When a mouse runs across the office of the leader of the opposition during a live TV interview, you might think it was time to get serious about refurbishing the collapsing pile of Perpendicular Gothic revival in which our laws are made.

- JOHN RENTOUL

You would be right - and, indeed, MPs got serious about the Palace of Westminster restoration project in 2012. They were asked to make a decision in principle in 2016, for work to begin in 2020.

This week, they got serious again, and the board in charge of the project presented MPs with two options. One is for MPs and peers to move out of their respective homes for somewhere between 19 and 24 years, while the works are carried out - at a cost of £16bn. The other is for the work to be done in stages over 38 to 61 years - at a cost of £39bn.

This time, they intend to ask MPs to vote to approve one or other option in 2030 - that is, after the next election, because they know MPs do not want to be seen as spending such vast sums on themselves.

This is ridiculous, because they will not be spending the money on themselves - they will be spending it on a historic building, so famous it appears in