The House

Disrepair: MPs and peers would be evacuated from the Palace of Westminster for the first time since World War Two

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trouble is, it’s falling down – I was wondering about a play on ‘house of cards’ but while the inmates get regularly shuffled, they are nothing to laff at. This is serious stuff; they’re even talking about moving Parliament and all its works out of town! Which got me thinking. What an opportunity to get something right – a first for them and a welcome successor to the Jubilee and London 2012!

Pugh on Parliament's refurbishment

The only remaining question is where? And I thought: I know. Move the whole thing to Edinburgh – and quickly. Then all decisions would be in a very important sense Scotch. The local mini-House would have to move out to somewhere like the Orkneys.

And the pile at Westmiinster? Donate it to Rupert Murdoch, friend of the House and Spokesman for the People.

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  1. August 26, 2012 at 10:17 pm | #1

    OK, I give up, Janus what is this all about?

  2. Janus
  3. August 27, 2012 at 8:00 am | #3

    The whole Westminster rat’s nest should be cauterized and a new parliament building erected on an industrial estate on the M6, somewhere between Birmingham and Manchester.

  4. Janus
    August 27, 2012 at 8:17 am | #4

    Jazz, I wonder if Stoke-on-Trent might be ideal: a symbol of Britain’s illustrious industrial past, all gone east.

  5. Boadicea
    August 27, 2012 at 8:55 am | #5

    How on earth does this warrant an Australiana tag!!

    It’s not surprising the thing needs repairing and renovation – it is rather old. Nonetheless, I think it should be repaired… it is such a well known building that anything else just wouldn’t look right.

    On the other hand, perhaps the building could be sold to some super-rich American for some ridiculous sum to rebuild in a desert somewhere.

  6. August 27, 2012 at 9:02 am | #6

    Boadicea :

    How on earth does this warrant an Australiana tag!!

    I suspect because Janus imagines the building of a Capital Territory a la Canberra.

    As for the ‘ridiculous sum’ paid for London Bridge by the rich American, I gather that he did very well out of the deal and always knew exactly what he was doing. But perhaps he would say that!

  7. Four-eyed English Genius
    August 27, 2012 at 11:25 am | #7

    I recently heard a bad taste joke about the House of Commons:

    A guy was driving around central London, and when he got to Parliament Square, he got caught in a huge gridlock. Police officers were going from car to car and appeared to be collecting something. Eventually, an officer approached our man and said, ” Sorry sir, but a gang of terrorists have taken over the House of Commons and locked all the MPs in. They are threatening to pour petrol over the place and set fire to it, with all the MPs still in there. unless a £500 million pound ransom is paid. We are trying to get as quick a resolution to this situation as possible and so we are going round to all drivers to ask for a donation!”.

    “Ok,”, the driver said, “I want to get moving as quickly as possible, what are most people giving?”

    “Well, “, said the officer, “most people are giving about a gallon!”.

  8. August 27, 2012 at 4:46 pm | #8

    Boadicea: unfortunately, times being as they are, it’s more likely to be sold to a Gulf sheikh and be re-built as part of a theme park in Dubai.

  9. Janus
    August 28, 2012 at 7:56 am | #9

    Boadicea :

    How on earth does this warrant an Australiana tag!!

    Rupert!

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