LONDON — A final decision on how to repair Britain’s crumbling parliament is likely to be postponed beyond the next general election, according to four people familiar with the matter.

MPs were expected to vote by the end of 2025 on four options for restoring the 19th-century Palace of Westminster — a long-delayed process that has been under discussion for more than a decade as problems with the building mount.

But under new plans drawn up by officials following a recent board meeting overseeing the restoration process, the selection of a final option will be significantly delayed.

Instead, MPs are likely to be offered a vote early next year on starting “preparatory works” such as procurement processes and building surveys. The decision on which final option to proceed with would not be required until at least 2030, two of the people said. 

It is a serious blow to hopes that the historic palace will be gutted and restored in the near future to avoid a similar disaster to the fire that consumed Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. 

Backlash fears

So far, planning has revolved around multiple options, including “full decant,” where all MPs move to another building; a less-extensive “partial decant”; or a rolling program of “enhanced maintenance and improvement” (EMI) works without leaving the building.

However, those familiar with discussions now expect the options to be narrowed down to just two: full decant, or a plan described as “EMI-plus.”

Successive governments have put off a decision on renovating parliament amid fears of a public backlash over the enormous cost. It was estimated at between £7 billion and £13 billion in 2022, but has since risen.

Two of the people familiar with discussions — granted anonymity to discuss them frankly — stressed that narrowing down to two options and approving preparatory works would still represent substantial progress.

It comes at a time when the British government is facing painful economic choices in its Nov. 26 budget. The same person stressed that the new course of action was yet to be fully agreed with the U.K. Treasury.

A third person familiar with the discussions said that while starting preparatory works would be a step in the right direction, the vote had been “fudged” for the reason that “it’s a scary big figure at a time when the government is taking unpalatable decisions and there’s no appetite to put it to MPs.”

Ministers have been anxious to avoid the budget being juxtaposed with the spectacle of MPs debating multibillion sums for the future of their own workplace. Two of the people said they expect parliamentary authorities to publish the cost of the options for restoration, as well as the cost of delay, shortly before the budget.

The costs of ad hoc maintenance and repairs to keep the palace safe have been rising. Fresh figures obtained by POLITICO show it now stands at £1.56 million a week, or £81.1 million a year, up from £1.45 million a week in 2023.

Alexandra Meakin, an expert on restoration from the University of Sheffield, said: “The continued failure to give the current parliament a full debate and vote means taxpayers are continuing to spend millions of pounds each year on repairs and maintenance, while the risk of the building being destroyed in a catastrophic flood or fire remains unaddressed.”

‘We remain on track’

Corridors in the palace’s sprawling basement that could once fit four people abreast are now so packed with gas lines, water pipes, electrical wiring and redundant infrastructure that workers can only walk down them single file. It has a misting system to mitigate the risk of fire.

Extra safety measures have been introduced in recent years to guard against falling masonry that has come loose on several occasions.

A government spokesperson said: “The Restoration and Renewal Programme has always been a parliamentary programme and remains so. Ensuring value for taxpayers’ money must be a driving focus.”

A U.K. parliament spokesperson said: “We remain on track to bring costed proposals for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster to both Houses this year, detailing costs, timescales, risks and benefits of the delivery options, all of which represent a significant, multibillion pound investment in the Palace.”