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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Rupa Huq

We conduct affairs of state in a building that’s riddled with asbestos and mice. Can’t Britain do any better?

The Palace of Westminster
The restoration of the Palace of Westminster could cost billions and take more than 60 years. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Shutterstock

Kemi Badenoch, mid-TV interview with Robert Peston at the House of Commons recently, was embarrassingly upstaged by a mouse. Just another day in a parliament building not fit for purpose.

Last week, a critical meeting between the prime minister and his more than 400 MPs plus assorted peers (who total another 800) happened in a room only big enough to accommodate 170. Consider that the Commons chamber itself seats only 430 of the total 650 MPs. That same day, exhibition boards went up around parliament explaining the “restoration and renewal” options for the Palace of Westminster. They are expected to be voted on as early as March.

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