LOCAL MP Jesse Norman has said it is time for Parliament to think again about its ruinously expensive restoration plans to restore the House of Commons and the House of Lords and the rest of the Palace of Westminster.

In a video, with Mr Norman pictured in front of the iconic Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, said that the Palace of Westminster is the mother of all parliaments and the place where our laws are debated and voted upon.

Mr Norman added: “However it starting to fall down. It’s in a serious state of disrepair. Unfortunately, the plans put forward are way out of proportion.

“The current repair plan could cost as much as £40billion. This is not a project we can afford. To me it feels more like a vanity project.

“That huge sum includes £3billion just for the next seven years. Without any great accountability or oversight, at a time when the current Government are hitting budgets harder than ever making money even tighter than it has been for some time, we say that the project should be paused with any restoration works focussing on the essentials, and genuine repair work without trying to reinvent this building. Let’s just repair it and make it good.”

Mr Norman went on to say that the Conservatives are fighting ‘this waste of public money’ as we seek to protect the heritage of this country for the next 200 years.

The Palace of Westminster building is in a state of ‘managed decline’ and requires some £1.5million a week in maintenance to address the failing Victorian-era infrastructure.

The Initial, urgent works have been capped at £3bn over the next seven years to prepare for the main construction, including building temporary, alternative chambers. A final decision on the preferred approach has been delayed until 2030.