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The old Palace of Westminster did burn down in 1834 and the present structure, built a decade later, has a lot of very elderly plumbing and electrics - with the upkeep of which they have been struggling for years. Water leaks are very common and the risk of fire is, indeed, high.
Problem is, transferring Parliament out of the building for long enough to properly renovate it is a very expensive prospect. One at which successive governments have baulked. Indeed, it has led to debate over whether a more suitable (e.g. with enough seats for all MPs and more office space), modern premises should be constructed instead.
The old Palace of Westminster did burn down in 1834 and the present structure, built a decade later, has a lot of very elderly plumbing and electrics - with the upkeep of which they have been struggling for years. Water leaks are very common and the risk of fire is, indeed, high.
Problem is, transferring Parliament out of the building for long enough to properly renovate it is a very expensive prospect. One at which successive governments have baulked. Indeed, it has led to debate over whether a more suitable (e.g. with enough seats for all MPs and more office space), modern premises should be constructed instead.
It’s practically impossible to ascertain a realistic budget. Prov sum heaven or hell? Hell I think.
The old Palace of Westminster did burn down in 1834 and the present structure, built a decade later, has a lot of very elderly plumbing and electrics - with the upkeep of which they have been struggling for years. Water leaks are very common and the risk of fire is, indeed, high.
Problem is, transferring Parliament out of the building for long enough to properly renovate it is a very expensive prospect. One at which successive governments have baulked. Indeed, it has led to debate over whether a more suitable (e.g. with enough seats for all MPs and more office space), modern premises should be constructed instead.
And of course, the neil parish porn viewing memorial room.
The old Palace of Westminster did burn down in 1834 and the present structure, built a decade later, has a lot of very elderly plumbing and electrics - with the upkeep of which they have been struggling for years. Water leaks are very common and the risk of fire is, indeed, high.
Problem is, transferring Parliament out of the building for long enough to properly renovate it is a very expensive prospect. One at which successive governments have baulked. Indeed, it has led to debate over whether a more suitable (e.g. with enough seats for all MPs and more office space), modern premises should be constructed instead.
And whether a more central location would be more cost-efficient too. Would a parliament based in a central city be more sensible or is there a real need for it to be in the capital?
And whether a more central location would be more cost-efficient too. Would a parliament based in a central city be more sensible or is there a real need for it to be in the capital?
The 'need' is that concentrating stuff in one area allows for better use of journalist and all other sindtry bods who service and feed off the political apparatus.
Apologies to anyone who thought I might be siggesting that the Tories would try to block democracy by burning down Parliament - cloes it yes, deny the lower house it's sovereignty, abuse it by persistently lying... then, yes
Off how so much cannot be dome currently to alleviate the crippling effects of inflation (and bloaters incompetence), yet this work can go ahead. Would a couple of years in pause cause that much harm to Parliament.
Much as with the white elephant, HS2. Already pretty much obsolete - with a blank cheque that is currently increasing by the billion every month. It was to be up and running by 2026 - now pushed back to 2033, with parts not hoped for completion until 2040.
The pandemic merely speeded up working practices which were already changing. The thought that in another couple of decades we will still be relying upon moving workers to a place of work, rather than data etc to workers is to ignore what is happening.
Aside from a few 3rd raters in the government, and the Mail who would have us back with canals and the horse and cart, pretty much every one else is finding ways to adapt to the new technology.
Twice, in the past few months my other half has had a doctors appointment over the phone (locums at that) - both could have been in Aberdeen, or Anglesey for all that mattered. Why am I obliged to travel into Sudbury to see a solicitor in expensive town centre offices ? Courts have been using video link for ages, a fair number of meetings are by skype, and email has replaced the post.
Spend the billions on upgrading the internet to superfast, to every corner of the UK. That is the real leveling up.
The 'need' is that concentrating stuff in one area allows for better use of journalist and all other sindtry bods who service and feed off the political apparatus.
Apologies to anyone who thought I might be siggesting that the Tories would try to block democracy by burning down Parliament - cloes it yes, deny the lower house it's sovereignty, abuse it by persistently lying... then, yes
Off how so much cannot be dome currently to alleviate the crippling effects of inflation (and bloaters incompetence), yet this work can go ahead. Would a couple of years in pause cause that much harm to Parliament.
Much as with the white elephant, HS2. Already pretty much obsolete - with a blank cheque that is currently increasing by the billion every month. It was to be up and running by 2026 - now pushed back to 2033, with parts not hoped for completion until 2040.
The pandemic merely speeded up working practices which were already changing. The thought that in another couple of decades we will still be relying upon moving workers to a place of work, rather than data etc to workers is to ignore what is happening.
Aside from a few 3rd raters in the government, and the Mail who would have us back with canals and the horse and cart, pretty much every one else is finding ways to adapt to the new technology.
Twice, in the past few months my other half has had a doctors appointment over the phone (locums at that) - both could have been in Aberdeen, or Anglesey for all that mattered. Why am I obliged to travel into Sudbury to see a solicitor in expensive town centre offices ? Courts have been using video link for ages, a fair number of meetings are by skype, and email has replaced the post.
Spend the billions on upgrading the internet to superfast, to every corner of the UK. That is the real leveling up.
The pandemic could have a positive effect in some places with the old guard would just allow some progress. Big office building owners desperate to get everyone back in the office is the best example of people refusing to allow progress. Rats like Jacob Rees-Mogg leading the way.
The pandemic could have a positive effect in some places with the old guard would just allow some progress. Big office building owners desperate to get everyone back in the office is the best example of people refusing to allow progress. Rats like Jacob Rees-Mogg leading the way.
It’s not just big office building owners. Retail and hospitality are both on their arses due to WFH.
In a few years people will be blabbing that town centres are full of charity shops or boarded up units.
Not sure office workers should be sent back to the office to artificially keep retail and hospitality businesses open.
I've long embraced the death of the town centre for retail. It would be much better transformed into an entertainment hub.
I agree that town centres won't be revived by phasing out WFH.
Before the rise of multiple car households, the common town was a Central Business District (CBD) with various layers of urban/suburban housing encapsulating it. It made sense to move into the towns on public transport to consume goods and services.
Now that single-car families are less common, we tend to venture out more often and commuting for work is much more common, it makes sense to have people move out from a central residential nucleus on public transport, whilst capturing transient footfall by positioning industry and commerce on the outskirts of towns.
WHF, Internet shopping and mass retail under one roof are really not the causes of the high street decline, but catalysts at best. You can even argue that internet shopping and mass retail under one roof are symptoms of high street decline, rather than causes/catalysts of it.
No. Working from home has lots of advantages though, not least on the planet we're supposed to be trying to save.
What next, minimum wage justified because some people own shares?
I get you have a vested interest in this but this idea we all need to return to the office just for the sake of it and to prop up a couple of industries is ridiculous.
No. Working from home has lots of advantages though, not least on the planet we're supposed to be trying to save.
What next, minimum wage justified because some people own shares?
I get you have a vested interest in this but this idea we all need to return to the office just for the sake of it and to prop up a couple of industries is ridiculous.
It's nothing to do with vested interest. I actually enjoy going out into thriving busy towns and soaking up the atmosphere. These towns won't survive based on only being busy on a Saturday. They need the workforce spending money on weekdays.
And it isn't a case of propping up a couple of industries. It's a case of keeping vibrant town centres a part of the community. The knock on effect will destroy that place where people can socialise like human beings rather than ordering a Pizza and a pint on Just Eat and watching the telly.
We have thread after thread of "such and such a place is great". Well they won't be much longer. They will be ghost towns.
It's nothing to do with vested interest. I actually enjoy going out into thriving busy towns and soaking up the atmosphere. These towns won't survive based on only being busy on a Saturday. They need the workforce spending money on weekdays.
And it isn't a case of propping up a couple of industries. It's a case of keeping vibrant town centres a part of the community. The knock on effect will destroy that place where people can socialise like human beings rather than ordering a Pizza and a pint on Just Eat and watching the telly.
We have thread after thread of "such and such a place is great". Well they won't be much longer. They will be ghost towns.
[Post edited 23 May 2022 15:41]
Disagree.
What if the workforce do not wish to return to the office? There is not much benefit to it and a multitude of benefits to working from home
Those areas could become the exact vibrant hubs you want them to be with a mix of town centre housing/flats and entertainment/hospitality outlets.
I would be pretty pissed off to ever have to return to the office for the sake of business who 'need the workforce spending money'.
It would be quite surprising if you were able to completely disregard the family business when it comes to this issue.
Thankfully millennials and the other generation whose name I can never remember are not going to put up with this sh1t.
It's nothing to do with vested interest. I actually enjoy going out into thriving busy towns and soaking up the atmosphere. These towns won't survive based on only being busy on a Saturday. They need the workforce spending money on weekdays.
And it isn't a case of propping up a couple of industries. It's a case of keeping vibrant town centres a part of the community. The knock on effect will destroy that place where people can socialise like human beings rather than ordering a Pizza and a pint on Just Eat and watching the telly.
We have thread after thread of "such and such a place is great". Well they won't be much longer. They will be ghost towns.
[Post edited 23 May 2022 15:41]
What utter righties nonsense - straight from the Daily Mail campaign of 'Bring Back the Horse and Cart'.
We have recently seen such giants as Tesco, with their ever expanding out of town shops, supermarket, hypermarket losing market share. There are umpteen sites that once were to be big sites, now lying indeveloped. The trand now is tiowards smnaller shops in town with a vastly reduced range of goods.
It has been the constant bleat of the red wall Tories. Unable to grasp why their houses were there in the first place - near to work, which is long gone, they bleat that it is unfair that work has left.
Most too stupid to recognise it is the UKs failing housing provision that is the cause of their woes. Try moving to work in the south if you own or rent a house in the 'north'.
Pubs evolved due to different work practices (next to a station), and social behaviour. Not recognising trends and patterns in work will nor retain what is already pretty much lost. We currently have a government in total denial as it tries to save it's skin from the inevitable, supported by fore lock tugging righties, ever desperate to hold back change.
The irony is that from such ranks, farmers, fishermen, red wallers where the greatest blows are already falling.
'Master knows best' was their constant bleat, over the past 6 years. Sadly for them master knew what was best for him. Farms (and their houses) will eventually become the playground of the rich - and large office blocks will be turned into rabbit hutches for the poor.
Odd though that we have a rightie telling us that we should buck the market
What utter righties nonsense - straight from the Daily Mail campaign of 'Bring Back the Horse and Cart'.
We have recently seen such giants as Tesco, with their ever expanding out of town shops, supermarket, hypermarket losing market share. There are umpteen sites that once were to be big sites, now lying indeveloped. The trand now is tiowards smnaller shops in town with a vastly reduced range of goods.
It has been the constant bleat of the red wall Tories. Unable to grasp why their houses were there in the first place - near to work, which is long gone, they bleat that it is unfair that work has left.
Most too stupid to recognise it is the UKs failing housing provision that is the cause of their woes. Try moving to work in the south if you own or rent a house in the 'north'.
Pubs evolved due to different work practices (next to a station), and social behaviour. Not recognising trends and patterns in work will nor retain what is already pretty much lost. We currently have a government in total denial as it tries to save it's skin from the inevitable, supported by fore lock tugging righties, ever desperate to hold back change.
The irony is that from such ranks, farmers, fishermen, red wallers where the greatest blows are already falling.
'Master knows best' was their constant bleat, over the past 6 years. Sadly for them master knew what was best for him. Farms (and their houses) will eventually become the playground of the rich - and large office blocks will be turned into rabbit hutches for the poor.
Odd though that we have a rightie telling us that we should buck the market
Just from a human point of view, don't you miss the social interaction that working in an office provides?
Some of my longest friendships are those that were made at work.
No I don’t.
That paper makes it very clear there is huge benefit to the worker to work from home but it’s going to take a bit of GDP away etc. So it’s benefits for the masses versus the never ending desire for growth and profit. You would happily send us all back to the office (by the way my job has always been remote) for the sake of GDP and giving a bit of a boost to a few industries.
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree with you more on this. Hopefully the younger generations have well and truly started the ball rolling on change. We are not going to play by the rules of the 1990s and those of you only concerned with profit and growth at the expense of the workers will have to live with it.
I stopped here and thought if that was a fair thing to say to you personally. I decided it was. I don’t believe for a second this is about anything other than your cafe’s profit.
That paper makes it very clear there is huge benefit to the worker to work from home but it’s going to take a bit of GDP away etc. So it’s benefits for the masses versus the never ending desire for growth and profit. You would happily send us all back to the office (by the way my job has always been remote) for the sake of GDP and giving a bit of a boost to a few industries.
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree with you more on this. Hopefully the younger generations have well and truly started the ball rolling on change. We are not going to play by the rules of the 1990s and those of you only concerned with profit and growth at the expense of the workers will have to live with it.
I stopped here and thought if that was a fair thing to say to you personally. I decided it was. I don’t believe for a second this is about anything other than your cafe’s profit.
Especially "the shift to working from home could have positive implications for labour productivity and the “levelling up” agenda. Workers who used to work in inner-city offices can bring more economic activities to the suburbs and rural areas. Cities that heavily rely on office workers may need to diversify and adapt."
I also suspect that PriceWaterhouseCoopers would be a firm that would benefit from increased use of office space and may therefore have a vested interest in encouraging a return to them (as have many Tory MPs with property portfolios).
That paper makes it very clear there is huge benefit to the worker to work from home but it’s going to take a bit of GDP away etc. So it’s benefits for the masses versus the never ending desire for growth and profit. You would happily send us all back to the office (by the way my job has always been remote) for the sake of GDP and giving a bit of a boost to a few industries.
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree with you more on this. Hopefully the younger generations have well and truly started the ball rolling on change. We are not going to play by the rules of the 1990s and those of you only concerned with profit and growth at the expense of the workers will have to live with it.
I stopped here and thought if that was a fair thing to say to you personally. I decided it was. I don’t believe for a second this is about anything other than your cafe’s profit.
The vested interests can bleat all they like - professional services outfits (lawyers, accountants, consultants) are never turning back.
Productivity jumped appreciably under WFH - happier staff, lower office costs, bigger profits for the equity partners. Greener.
Capitalism's embarrassing itself with these "you're here to provide us with our profits" arguments. "Come here and give us your money".
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