Nigel Evans was the Conservative MP for Ribble Valley from 1992 to 2024.
The iconic Palace of Westminster has been the home to British politics for centuries. The imposing 19th-century marvel we know today sprung out of the ashes of the 1834 fire which destroyed most of the building.
There are a few gems of the previous palace which survived the blaze and amaze us still including the Great Hall, the Cloisters ( Where Henry VIII wandered around its court), and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft.
Above the steps of the Great Hall are housed six statues dating from the 13th Century and no one knows when they were last maintained. There’s a huge, imposing painting hanging high above the old main entrance to St Stephens Hall, and no one knows yet how we will be able to get it off the wall intact.
Parliament is clearly one of the huge tourist traps of the world, but that is a byproduct to its real purpose: housing 650 MPs, a moveable feast of peers, and thousands of support staff.
It has also been my workplace for more than 32 years. During that time I never tired of its splendour – and I was always conscious of its history and future. I never took it for granted as I graced its hallowed halls. You can only imagine my delight at being twice elected deputy speaker and sitting in the Speaker’s Chair to conduct its business on a daily basis.
The building imposes itself on the space that 16 football pitches would occupy. It is an UNESCO world heritage site and is recognised throughout the world instantly.
It is also in need of restoration and I was honoured to chair the restoration and renewal programme board tasked with bringing options to a committee of Parliament, chaired by both Speaker Hoyle and the Lord Speaker, who will ultimately decide the choices which will be presented to Parliament for the final decision. This vote will take place next year and will ultimately dictate how this building will be fit for purpose for the next 150 years.
We have listened to the views of those working at the Palace of Westminster and the firm consensus is that we should not abandon our historic home for some modern, purpose-built parliament building somewhere else.
Once that decision is taken, however, then doing nothing to our surroundings is not an option. Bits occasionally fall off, the odd fire breaks out (six since 2021), the basement is rammed with a confusion of pipes, wires, and relics of yesteryear. A new sprinkler system has been installed which will put out fires but is not comprehensive in its coverage.
The building does not lend itself to those who are disabled and it takes a lot of planning to get those who are wheelchair-assisted around the building. Over half the building is simply hostile to those who need assistance.
The current weekly expenditure on maintenance is an eye watering £1.8 million. Decisions on what to do about restoration have been skilfully kicked down a pothole-filled road for decades.
But we have simply run out of road now. Avoiding taking serious decisions will risk fire, flooding, and regular interruptions to the proceedings of the two houses. When I first came to Westminster I would look at the gargoyles and marvel at them, but now I worry what will happen if one of them becomes suddenly detached of its vintage holding. Will someone get badly injured, or killed?
Sir Charles Barry and Augustin Pugin have bequeathed us an unintentional headache almost 200 years in the making: how we restore, and renew, this great place. Their original Palace was three times over budget and late in delivery.
The Elizabeth Tower was restored over four years and that came in three times the budget too, at £85 million. The tower is simply magnificent and now reopened to athletic tourists to climb its 334 steps to the see the legendary Big Ben bell.
Options on renewal range from up to ten years closure of the estate and full decant, or a partial decant but still several years off the estate, or major renovations over decades but with a much lesser renewal on areas like disabled access and visitor improvements. The cost under any option will be eye-watering, but lessons learned, and major surveying already carried out, should ensure that unlike many major infrastructure projects, this one comes in on time and costs.
Renovation will be using materials and skills from all over the UK. Imaginative solutions could open over 70 per cent of the Palace to disabled people, which will be a great boost both to those working in Parliament and to visitors.
Next year will see thew Victoria Tower imprisoned in scaffolding and shrouded in tarpaulin as work begins on its restoration. I once was shown an act of Parliament signed by Henry VIII there, but it and other acts have been shipped to the archives at Kew. This precious space could soon house peers desperate for office space, but final decisions have yet to be made.
The indecision is about to come to an end. The new Parliament will take its responsibilities very seriously I am sure. Whatever they decide it will be controversial , and unpopular. But my firm advice is to put on your tin helmets, read the proposals, ask your questions… but finally, make a decision.
The Bell is tolling… and thanks to four years of skilled repairs, and a lot of money, it will be tolling for another century and more. The rest of the building is desperate for the same attention and will simply not survive unless essential works begin and that would be a gross act of negligence perpetrated on generations yet unborn.
