‘IF THE HOUSE OF LORDS WERE TO RELOCATE TO STOKE-ON-TRENT, IT WOULD BE ASSURED OF A WARM WELCOME IN ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE PLACES IN ENGLAND’
Levelling Up Secretary backs temporary move of chamber out of London Phil
MICHAEL Gove says the House of Lords would receive a ‘warm welcome’ in Stoke-on-trent if it was temporarily relocated to the city.
The Levelling Up Secretary told the House of Commons that he ‘wholeheartedly’ supported the idea of the Lords being moved to another city while extensive refurbishment is carried out.
Mr Gove visited Middleport Pottery last week as part of a cabinet ‘away day’ in Stoke-ontrent, which he described as ‘one of the most attractive places in England’.
He told MPS that moving the Lords to a city like Stoke-on-trent would align with the Government drive to relocate civil servant jobs outside London.
The Home Office has previously
announced plans to create more than 500 jobs in the Potteries.
Mr Gove said: “The Places for Growth programme has seen civil servants relocated from London and the south-east to different parts of the United Kingdom, whether it is Treasury civil servants going to Darlington in County Durham, Home Office officials going to Stoke-ontrent in Staffordshire or indeed my own officials relocating to Wolverhampton.
“There was speculation in some newspapers at the weekend that
that estimable effort by civil servants should be joined by members of the other place.
“I would wholeheartedly welcome the relocation of the House of Lords to one of our great cities.
“In particular, the attractions of the six towns that constitute Stoke-on-trent, as I saw last week, are formidable.
“If the House of Lords were to relocate to Stoke-on-trent, it would be assured of a warm welcome in one of the most attractive places in England.”