Crumbling Westminster = £3bn +. What should we do ? Poll..

Crumbling Westminster = £3bn +. What should we do ? Poll..

Poll: Crumbling Westminster = £3bn +. What should we do ? Poll..

Total Members Polled: 470

Work around the MPs during restore: 17%
Temporarily move Parliament during restore: 34%
Build new Parl, open Westminster to visitors: 41%
Clever joke answer here...: 9%
Author
Discussion

Chimune

Original Poster:

3,164 posts

222 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Watching the story on Newsnight last night that the Palace of Westminster is crumbling away and will cost over £3bn to restore.

The scale of the work needed to bring it all back up to spec, seems insane, but the Newsnight report also makes it plain that the whole building is absolutely stunning....the bits that are used that is. Plenty of it is locked up for safety or budget reasons.

Its iconic and historical status means it absolutely must be restored. The question is how ?

I see this as a unique opportunity to modernise the way UK politics operates. I think its obvious that what UK politics needs is a total overhaul and what better way to do it than getting Sir Norman Forster etc to build a new modern Parliament designed to cope with the way we work and make decisions in the 21st century.

With one decision we could get rid of all the old sheeite rules, pomp, procedures, ceremonies and folklore.... 90% of which exists solely to re-inforce the boundarys between the ruling class and the rest of us proles.

Westminster is stunning and would be a massive tourist pull. The money made from visitors would go to pay for the top quality, total restoration that it deserves. Id love to go see all the hidden parts that scum like me have been barred from since 1847. Politicians don't own Westminster. The country does.

The Palace of Westminster is an amazing asset to the UK. Its far too important to be bodged just so politicians can continue to feel special. They aren't and shipping them out of Westminster into a modern workplace, might begin to make them understand that.

What do you think ?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/21/palace-wes...

Tyre Tread

10,525 posts

215 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Employ a 21st Century Guy Fawkes

crankedup

25,764 posts

242 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Temp' move Parliament during works period. Perfect chance for us to see if our M.P.'s and Lords are able to work more cheaply elsewhere

bucksmanuk

2,311 posts

169 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Tyre Tread said:
Employ a 21st Century Guy Fawkes
^^^ this - very much so

Why not build a new one somewhere else, which would inform (nay - ram it down Thornberry's pompous sneering neck IMHO) the Westminster intelligentsia that life does indeed exist outside central London, and could do with a bit of investment. Say Staffordshire? Nottinghamshire? Shropshire? There’s loads of places that could do with a bit more brass.

mrpurple

2,624 posts

187 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Tyre Tread said:
Employ a 21st Century Guy Fawkes
Start a lottery with 1st prize being the honour of lighting the fire...£10 per ticket should clear the debts....win win in my eyes.

McWigglebum4th

32,414 posts

203 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
bucksmanuk said:
Tyre Tread said:
Employ a 21st Century Guy Fawkes
^^^ this - very much so

Why not build a new one somewhere else, which would inform (nay - ram it down Thornberry's pompous sneering neck IMHO) the Westminster intelligentsia that life does indeed exist outside central London, and could do with a bit of investment. Say Staffordshire? Nottinghamshire? Shropshire? There’s loads of places that could do with a bit more brass.
Oh ps off

It is a wonderful and iconic building

The wkers who poulate it

spikeyhead

17,225 posts

196 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
McWigglebum4th said:
Oh ps off

It is a wonderful and iconic building

The wkers who poulate it
Indeed, now £10 a ticket to burn an MP would surely generate enough money for the refurb.

Megaflow

9,347 posts

224 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Take control of the restoration away from the public sector and watch the bill and time scale halve...

£3b to restore a building? Seriously, you could knock it down and start again for that!

69 coupe

2,433 posts

210 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Portakabin 1 bar (heater)

Gargamel

14,958 posts

260 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
£3bn - are they freakin joking!

How loudly they complain when the Queen spent a mere £40m on restoring over 100 rooms at Windsor Castle

For £3bn, it ought to float and fly too !


iphonedyou

9,234 posts

156 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Chimune said:
Watching the story on Newsnight last night that the Palace of Westminster is crumbling away and will cost over £3bn to restore.

The scale of the work needed to bring it all back up to spec, seems insane, but the Newsnight report also makes it plain that the whole building is absolutely stunning....the bits that are used that is. Plenty of it is locked up for safety or budget reasons.

Its iconic and historical status means it absolutely must be restored. The question is how ?

I see this as a unique opportunity to modernise the way UK politics operates. I think its obvious that what UK politics needs is a total overhaul and what better way to do it than getting Sir Norman Forster etc to build a new modern Parliament designed to cope with the way we work and make decisions in the 21st century.

With one decision we could get rid of all the old sheeite rules, pomp, procedures, ceremonies and folklore.... 90% of which exists solely to re-inforce the boundarys between the ruling class and the rest of us proles.

Westminster is stunning and would be a massive tourist pull. The money made from visitors would go to pay for the top quality, total restoration that it deserves. Id love to go see all the hidden parts that scum like me have been barred from since 1847. Politicians don't own Westminster. The country does.

The Palace of Westminster is an amazing asset to the UK. Its far too important to be bodged just so politicians can continue to feel special. They aren't and shipping them out of Westminster into a modern workplace, might begin to make them understand that.

What do you think ?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/21/palace-wes...
Utter bks, frankly. From beginning to end.

It's fairly plain that the primary motive behind the motion is a kick in the teeth for MPs, rather than any real love for the building. I don't see the link between moving politicians to a modern building and modernising politics. Tenuous at best.

Also, think more of yourself. You do yourself a disservice by referring to yourself as 'scum' and a 'prole'. Though I note with interest that some - not you, I'm sure - seek to make any gap between them and the 'elite' appear larger by purposely undermining themselves. An interesting tactic.

ecs

1,222 posts

169 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Move them out of London into a new building - surely that would cost a lot less than £3bn?

Restore Westminster using part public funds and part Lottery/charity/something else and open it for tourists and the public to visit.

blueg33

35,590 posts

223 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Gargamel said:
£3bn - are they freakin joking!

How loudly they complain when the Queen spent a mere £40m on restoring over 100 rooms at Windsor Castle

For £3bn, it ought to float and fly too !
"Public Sector Asset In Backlog Maintenance Shock" is not a new headline if you have anything to do with the public sector. I frequently see buildings that will cost far more to brinfg up to a safe a reasonable standard than they are worth.

The whole reason PFI projects look esxpensive is beacsuae the mainetennance is included and this issue shoudnt arise. So lets build new under PFI smile

Digga

40,207 posts

282 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
spikeyhead said:
McWigglebum4th said:
Oh ps off

It is a wonderful and iconic building

The wkers who poulate it
Indeed, now £10 a ticket to burn an MP would surely generate enough money for the refurb.
In a low emissions zone? Wash your mouth out with green tea!

Crushing to recycle on the other hand... (Undecided on whether the building, MPs or both.)


iphonedyou

9,234 posts

156 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
ecs said:
Move them out of London into a new building - surely that would cost a lot less than £3bn?

Restore Westminster using part public funds and part Lottery/charity/something else and open it for tourists and the public to visit.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that London has a wonderfully large number of lovely old buildings you can walk around and look at already, and that's great. But I also like the idea of some wonderful old buildings actually remaining used for their original purpose - to a great many, that's as much of an appeal, if not more so, than the appearance itself.

Du1point8

21,604 posts

191 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Wait... what?

This building is used all the time and they have let it get into such a state that now £3 billion (if I believe that figure) is needed to restore it?

What is wrong with having a dedicated team situated there to keep on top of all this rather than let it get into a state first?

How is it even £3 billion in the first place?

Suppose its still cheaper than the £10 billion wasted on the NHS IT system,

CamMoreRon

1,237 posts

124 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Leave the buildings and open them up to the public, but move parliament to a new building. One without oak walls and robes and morris dancing and other traditionalist junk. I bet a change to a more modern & relevant environment would get rid of the boorish and tribal behaviour pretty quickly.. honestly, watching any commons debate is like being at a duck market. No wonder they never come up with any sensible ideas.

iphonedyou

9,234 posts

156 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
CamMoreRon said:
Leave the buildings and open them up to the public, but move parliament to a new building. One without oak walls and robes and morris dancing and other traditionalist junk. I bet a change to a more modern & relevant environment would get rid of the boorish and tribal behaviour pretty quickly.. honestly, watching any commons debate is like being at a duck market. No wonder they never come up with any sensible ideas.
Great. You've arrived. Not got that chip seen to yet, then, given that oak panelling now irritates you.

Tyre Tread

10,525 posts

215 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
I'm sure the contract to perform the renovations will be given to a French company by order of ze EU

Getragdogleg

8,737 posts

182 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Tyre Tread said:
I'm sure the contract to perform the renovations will be given to a French company by order of ze EU
Or a Chinese company with little or no experience of building will be sold the site and they will turn it into luxury flats.