Parliament Is Falling Down. Doing Nothing Is Not an Option.

Amid all the pressures on Britain’s public finances, fixing the crumbling, mouse-infested, fake-gothic palace that hosts the nation’s politicians isn’t high on the priority list.

Yet as the Houses of Parliament literally fall down around them, MPs will soon be asked to approve a restoration package likely to run into tens of billions of pounds. Even as they wince at the prospect of looming tax rises and painful cuts to welfare and overseas aid, MPs must finally take a decision about shoring up their decrepit workplace. It almost doesn’t matter how they decide to do it. After years of procrastination in which they’ve been bogged down in technicalities, more inaction is a bad choice. They must take the political hit and commit to starting this much-needed work as soon as possible.