| Over
200 MPs are moving into new offices, at a cost of
over £1.2 million per office. Portcullis House, built above
Westminster tube and opposite Big Ben, is
opening.
You may not believe me, but my
anger is not because I’m not one of those
MPs moving into the swish block. I chose
to stay in my more modest accommodation nearby.
I’m cross because the cost
is gigantic.
Ordered back when the
Conservatives were in power, Portcullis House has
cost around £230 million.
Supporters point to the need
for extra offices: now many MPs share and some,
like myself, have cramped offices.
But the cost!
Yet defenders say this was a
historic site, needing a "quality"
building. They argue modern security demands
added to the cost, as did the challenges posed by
construction over Westminster station.
|
I’m
unconvinced. To see why, look at the mistakes in
the building’s construction. Delays costing £10 million. A failed
court case costing nearly £2 million, when an
American firm successfully sued the Commons’
authorities for discrimination. And still the
drains haven’t worked and the window panels
cracked. Apparently, someone even forgot to
design a lock on the front door, so it now needs
a 24-hour security presence!
Then you come to the
over-the-top spending on internal fittings:
£75,000 for the reception desk; £150,000 for hiring
12 fig trees; £1 million on window blinds.
You see why I’m cross.
But this is just one more
example of a deeper sickness with how decisions
are taken. MPs spend too little time examining
the way taxpayers’ money is spent.
Later this year, I’m
publishing a pamphlet on how I think MPs can be forced
to consider the budget carefully. So I will
return to the fight against waste.
|
