Move Parliament to Birmingham, says Adonis

A LABOUR lord has suggested Parliament be permanently relocated to Birmingham as he called for MPs to get out of the capital.

Politician Andrew Adonis (pictured) said the time had come to take the idea of relocating the House of Commons and House of Lords seriously.

He also floated Manchester as a potential city that could host parliamentarians.

Adonis, who has become wellknown as a vocal opponent of Brexit, said it would make an improvement to the way Britain is governed amid talk from Boris Johnson of “levelling up” the country. It comes as The Palace of Westminster is due to begin a refurbishment in 2022 which, according to reports, could cost “at least” £12 billion.

But Adonis said the issue “is not only the cost” and asked whether London is the right place for the UK Parliament.

“It is surely right to pause and consider whether there is a better option,” Adonis wrote in Prospect magazine, for which he is a regular columnist. Adonis, who served as a minister for schools and transport during the New Labour years, said HS2 provided an opportunity to shrink journey times ac-ross the country and move the UK’s decisionmaking centre.

“HS2 will have four stations in and around Birmingham and Manchester – including at Manchester Airport and Birmingham Airport,” he added.

“With the latter just across from the National Exhibition Centre, there is ample space for a new and immediately accessible parliament building.”

It is not the first time he has made calls to move Parliament to the city.

In August, we reported that Adonis had been in talks with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street about the possibility.

He said he was trying to persuade Mr Street that Birmingham International train station in Solihull should be renamed “UK Central” – and that a new, temporary building for Parliament could be built next door, close to the NEC.