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Posted by: TallDarkAndHandsome Nov 2 2015, 05:41 PM

I have a cunning plan.

Let's demolish the Houses of Parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33184160

£5.7 Billion to repair it. No thanks.
Demolish it.

Build a smaller (much smaller) building to house the ELECTED members of parliament.
Disband the Lords (saving several hundred other millions)

Sell of a huge swathe of property in a highly desirable riverside location for Billions more.

Perhaps they could then modify the changes to Tax Credit cuts (modification is still necessary).

Win Win!

Posted by: Simon Kirby Nov 2 2015, 07:35 PM

I'd go for most of that. I'm not particularly wedded to the Houses of Parliament as a building. It's obviously quite central to our national self-image but as an office building and debating chamber it's maybe not the best, and I often feel that this kind of tradition and custom encourages a ridiculous degree of self-importance that really gets in the way of accountable open governance. I don't know whether English Heritage would want the place, but if they thought they could turn a profit selling tickets to tourists I'd happily gift them the houses of parliament with its lovely big clock and put the commons up in something more suitable. And no, I wouldn't bother with the Lords either.

Posted by: Cognosco Nov 2 2015, 09:30 PM

Posted by: Andy Capp Nov 2 2015, 10:47 PM

I doubt a developer could make profit in the middle of London. Well, not the developers from around here any way.

Posted by: On the edge Nov 3 2015, 07:34 AM

Wouldn't Westminster Parish Council want to take it over and do it up as a community centre?

Posted by: motormad Nov 3 2015, 03:19 PM

Yeah, that's not going to happen though is it.

Posted by: On the edge Nov 3 2015, 07:15 PM

Probably not, I'd imagine Westminster Parish Councillors are likely to be rather more prudent than their colleagues in say Thatcham or Greenham....

Posted by: blackdog Nov 3 2015, 09:20 PM

Always supposing they existed.

Posted by: Cognosco Nov 3 2015, 10:27 PM

No Londoners dont't put up with bumbling Parish council amateurs do they? Boris excepted of course!

Posted by: blackdog Nov 3 2015, 11:41 PM

Unfair! Boris is a bumbling professional.

Posted by: newres Nov 4 2015, 06:54 PM

Is Westminster a parish or is this an "in" joke?

Posted by: Simon Kirby Nov 4 2015, 07:25 PM

Queens Park Community Council is a parish council in Westminster, though I think the Houses of Parliament are outside its parish boundary.

Posted by: Cognosco Nov 4 2015, 07:28 PM

Posted by: On the edge Nov 4 2015, 08:50 PM

Well, its often referred to as a village....

Posted by: blackdog Nov 5 2015, 09:15 AM

Westminster is a London Borough which doesn't really have a local equivalent. It has many of the powers of WBC and twice the budget, but the London Mayor has some of the WBC powers. More like a District Council / County Council arrangement.

It is a very rich borough but even its budget would be stretched by taking on the Houses of Parliament as a tourist attraction - the repair costs are suggested to be billions.

Posted by: GMR Nov 5 2015, 02:01 PM

£5.7 billion is good value. The amount of tourists that come here because of it will pay for itself over time. You can't keep dismantling historic monuments because of a little thing like money getting in the way. The overall value is worth more.

Posted by: Cognosco Nov 5 2015, 04:42 PM

I feel sure there is rather a lot of people that would not agree with you considering how low in esteem politicians are held at the moment? Especially when they have just been informed that there is no money in the kitty for even some of the basics left for survival supposedly and millions are being cut to the least well off!

Posted by: Simon Kirby Nov 5 2015, 05:44 PM

If the houses of parliament pay for themselves as a toruist attraction then great, there won't be any need to trouble the public purse for the their repair.

Posted by: x2lls Nov 5 2015, 09:47 PM

The houses of parliament are not owned by politicians, they are owned by the state, ie us.
In the long term, for our heritage, whether you like it or not, they are a part of our said heritage. Why destroy something simply because some **** in the 21st century thinks it not a good idea.

perhaps this would be more to your liking?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/isis-destruction-of-palmyra-syria-heart-been-ripped-out-of-the-city

Posted by: x2lls Nov 5 2015, 09:48 PM

OH FFS, this forum is so toddler based. I got censored on the word T W A T.

Posted by: blackdog Nov 5 2015, 09:53 PM

Probably because the forum knows what it means.

Posted by: newres Nov 6 2015, 06:22 AM

Moderated i'd call it rather than censored. Personally I prefer moderated forums. The word you used us not very different to the "c" word in mu opinion. Many forums ban FFS. I personally hate those Facebook threads full of morons swearing and am glad this forum is different. Even though I'm an irregular.

Posted by: Nothing Much Nov 6 2015, 11:19 AM

Where would David Gilmour's son..demonstrate? Chipping Sodbury?
ce

Posted by: Nothing Much Nov 6 2015, 11:21 AM

Maybe that will work
ce

Posted by: Simon Kirby Nov 6 2015, 01:57 PM

I see tw@t and prat as pretty much equivalent in strength of insult, with tw@t being the milder if anything, and neither being very much stronger than twit - something like a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being numptie say, and 10 the 'c'-word. I have no objection in principle to profanity or insults but as with any cliche it can come over as weak writing and alienate the reader if it's not inventive and satirical.

I'd also use tw@t to mean smack, which I don't think North Americans understand but is perfectly acceptable British English.

Posted by: Simon Kirby Nov 6 2015, 01:58 PM

S****horpe?

Posted by: Andy Capp Nov 6 2015, 02:10 PM

Like a lot of things, I think the emphasis is on what people mean, rather than the words they use.

I have been blasted for using the other 'T' word, an expression which I see as being barely playground offensive, but others 'decided' to be deeply offended by it. However, the offence was the belief I was bulling.

Posted by: On the edge Nov 6 2015, 09:11 PM

Interesting, fashions come and go. At one time, as those of us of a certain age will well remember, f*** was absolutely forbidden, now any poor comedian who wants to enhance reputation just precedes every sentence with it! Emblazoned and illuminated on petrol pumps in pre war years. Pratts perfection spirit, the precursor to Esso. Don't times change. Still, better not think of giving anyone a box of chocolate numpties this Christmas.

Posted by: spartacus Nov 7 2015, 08:53 AM

It would be a bit like the Sterling Cable site. So many dirty deals taking place on the same site for centuries - with the real filth being dealt in the last few decades - that it's a piece of contaminated land and a developer would need to spend a fortune to get rid of the stink.....

Posted by: spartacus Nov 7 2015, 10:02 AM

Swear words and what is acceptable language changes from time to time. I used to hate the adults who thought it acceptable to be walking along with their kids in tow and the lot of them wearing t-shirts or sweatshirts emblazoned with the FCUK logo in bold letters and seem to think nothing of the sensitivities of any dyslexic passers by.... or people like me who might snap their necks as we did a quick double take when we thought we saw sweet angelic toddlers with the 'F word on their tops... It was a while before my kids pointed out it was French Connection UK.... yeah, right.....

In a bid to expose the hypocrisy I bought a t-shirt from the company which deliberately parodied the open use of that corporate logo and at the same time celebrated part of our shared European monarchical past... The Danish King Cnut who tried to hold back the tide has a whole website of clothing to celebrate his legacy http://www.kingcnut.com/

(The guy who set up the clothing brand is local comedian Dave Griffiths... Nice piece in The Independent on how he got one over on French Connection with his French CoRREction cnut t-shirts http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/news/comedian-gets-the-last-laugh-over-fcuk-logo-row-8975113.html)

Trouble is, in the end I wasn't as brave as the FCUK types to wear it in public.... or perhaps I was considering the dyslexics....


The 'N' word is another... It was alright for the squadron mascot of The Dambusters to be called it in the 40s but apparently that part of our history will be re-written when they do a remake of the film... the dog will instead be 'Digger'... Don't want to offend now do we.....(although at the MOBO Awards ceremony thing the other night - which was publicly broadcast - I'll bet every Rap & Crap 'artist' present couldn't string a sentence together without liberal use of the word "niggaz..".... alright for them innit... If any 'ethnic' used the word 'honky' towards me I'd think it was something to with the way I smell... )

(Apologies for the thread drift.....)