Category Archives: Parliament

A bitterly cold evening outside, and only marginally warmer within.

The central heating in St Stephen’s tower hasn’t worked for over a week. Over the last few days, the mercury has plunged, rendering life in this corner of the Palace of Westminster increasingly unpleasant. Despite repeated visits by well-meaning engineers, our radiators remain stubbornly gelid. I fervently hope that they manage to fix the problem tomorrow, before frostbite becomes a real possibility.

For the most part, working in the finest neo-Gothic building in the world is an uplifting experience, but there are sometimes practical problems. Antique central heating is only part of it; we have issues with asbestos (I haven’t been able to open the closet in my office for over three years because of asbestos concerns) and over 500 miles of water pipes, electricity and telephone cables need to be replaced.

The old building needs a thorough overhaul. It has been estimated that renovations could cost as much as £350 million and take up to three years, during which period Members would need to find alternative accommodation. A suggestion that we temporarily use the debating chamber of the House of Lords has apparently received short shrift from their lordships, so we may be obliged to move into the monumentally ugly Queen Elizabeth conference centre, on the other side of Parliament Square.

I can’t say I would relish the move; I am deeply attached to this place. On the other hand, on a freezing November night, with the circulation draining away from my fingertips, I am moving reluctantly to the conclusion that there may be no alternative.

When I was elected to Parliament in 2005, I received a very kind note of congratulation from Dafydd Wigley. It concluded with the words: “Don’t worry if you keep getting lost; I was there 27 years, and I still kept getting lost.”

Easy enough to get lost in the Palace of Westminster. It’s absolutely vast: 2½ miles of corridors and over 1,000 rooms. And that’s not including Portcullis House, 1 Parliament Street and the rest of the parliamentary estate.

I’m constantly finding new nooks and crannies in this extraordinary building. Today was an example. I needed to table an amendment to the Planning Bill, now the principal focus of my life. I approached the clerks in the Table Office, behind the Speaker’s chair, but was told that I needed to go to the Public Bill Office, which I had never previously visited.

I was directed to a small, slow, creaking lift, which conveyed me laboriously up to the third floor. In this previously uncharted territory, I found the office and discussed my amendment with one of the public bill clerks, whose Rolls-Royce brains ensure that our legislation makes sense (until another Rolls-Royce brain later decides to pull it to pieces it in the courts).

The longer I am in this place, the more I love it. Anyone who works here – in whatever role – should regard it as an absolute privilege. It should never be taken for granted.

Drove to London this afternoon; there were apparently yet more problems on the perennially difficult North Wales line: two changes required, and no guarantee of getting here in less than 6 hours – 8 hours would probably be more like it. So I drove, and the journey wasn’t too bad until I hit a long queue at High Wycombe.

Opened the door of the flat to find a mountain of mail, mostly junk.

Tomorrow is the first day of Parliament after the summer recess. I’m looking forward to it, because we will have our tails up and Labour will be deeply depressed. But I’m nevertheless disappointed that there was no election. I think we would have won it. As it is, I think there is a real possibility that Gordon will go the full distance, right up to May, 2010.