THE CATASTROPHIC FIRE AT Notre-Dame emphasised the risk to further delaying the total renovation of the Palace of Westminster. Full of wiring, pipes and services from multiple eras — much of it unseen in crowded spaces between walls — the palace is in such parlous condition that fire watchers patrol its basements and attics 24 hours a day.
Even so, a fire could burn for minutes before being detected, with potentially devastating results. Current London Fire Brigade policy is to save lives, not buildings. So unlike during the Blitz, once everyone is evacuated no firefighter’s life would be put at significant risk to save the structure.
Restoring a building such as the Palace of Westminster might seem simple: figure out what needs doing, kick everyone out, and crack on. Most of the Palace is office space and it is easy to redeploy parliamentarians, officers, staff, and others elsewhere — whether on the current parliamentary estate or in rented office accommodation nearby.
The crux of the matter is the need to find two plenary chambers for the Lords and Commons while the Palace is being renovated. The Joint Committee on
