Save Big Ben from catastrophe

THE terrible fire at Notre Dame is a salutary reminder of the deep emotions that iconic monuments provoke. A case in point is the Palace of Westminster. Majestic as it is, this great NeoGothic landmark is, rather like the democracy it represents, in desperate need of renovation. It is riddled with rot and asbestos, infested with vermin, the plumbing is pre-war — and the whole thing is a giant fire hazard. In the past decade, over 40 fires have broken out within its walls. It is not a question of ‘if’, rather when. And yet whenever a restoration programme is suggested the reaction is one of horror: how can we possibly justify spending vast sums of money (latest estimates put the cost of the works at around £3.5 billion) on MPs when public trust in politics is at an all-time low? But that’s not the point. MPs come and go: this is about the nation. The Houses of Parliament are so much more than the people who work there, just as Notre Dame is so much more than a Catholic church. It doesn’t matter how broken our democracy is: if we don’t ever want to witness the clocktower of Big Ben toppling like the spire of Notre Dame, we need to act.