Estimated costs have already risen from £3.5bn to £40bn. The PM should bite the bullet and relocate MPs outside London – permanently What is the most reactionary public institution in Britain, the most outdated and immune to reform? It is the one that orders us to keep changing: parliament. It is also the most wildly extravagant. When the issue is hospitals, prisons and care homes, austerity is often the answer. When it comes to its own premises, only the best will do. Big Ben has recently been restored at a cost of £80m and the entire Palace of Westminster has been reroofed for another £80m . Back in the 2000s, the basement was also reportedly much in need of repair. Its piping and wiring were so decayed they would fail within five to 10 years. Various committees debated and dithered, and eventually invited London’s most pukka consultants, Deloitte, to estimate what needed doing, which
Notre-Dame was restored in five years and under budget. But the Palace of Westminster? No chance | Simon Jenkins
Original reporting
The Guardian: read the full reportRelated stories
American democracy was a big winner in the midterms
Results are still outstanding House and Senate races but political scientists say one of the big winners in the mid-terms is American democracy itself.
What to know about Gina Hinojosa, Texas' first Latina governor-elect
Gina Hinojosa, state representative from the Rio Grande Valley whose legislative priority has been boosting the public education system, will become the first Latina governor of Texas.
The economy propelled Democrats to victory. What can they actually do about it?
Democrats' resounding victory in the midterms can be boiled down to frustrations over the high cost of living and gas prices. But in divided government -- how much can Democrats do?
The incoming class of U.S. senators is full of historic firsts
From the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Muslim who will join the upper chamber to the Senate's first Paralympian, voters elected historic candidates on Tuesday.
No one knows how many ballots are outstanding in Mississippi's Senate race
The razor-thin margin between GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom is shining a light on an election process in Mississippi that is among the slowest and most decentralized in the U.S.
Burnham aims for ‘quite radical change’ in support for young people
Prime minister says ‘root and branch review of childhood’ is needed and he does not rule out some benefit cuts The government is aiming for “quite radical change” in the way young people are supported, Andy Burnham has said, indicating this could include tougher rules for benefits as well as notably more help with everything from finding work to mental health. In media interviews before the release of the second report by the former minister Alan Milburn on reducing the numbers of young people not in work, education or training, Burnham said his mission was “rethinking childhood” from the early years onwards. Continue reading...