In my blog of 21st January 2015 - A Parliament for the Whole UK? - I suggested that a wholesale move of the government from London to the regions should be considered against the background of the ageing and costly government estate in London and in particular the Houses of Parliament.
The BBC reports this morning on a speech by John Bercow in which he said, amongst other things that
Parliament may need to decant in order to undertake necessary repair work; that
If MPs and peers were to temporarily move out, locations outside London should be considered; and that
"once you are out it can be very difficult to get back in".
Putting all of those things together suggests that a permanent move might well be the better option, and that such a move should be to the regions. The only thing stopping a serious contemplation of that idea seems to be an emotional attachment to the building, but in my view that conflates the physical building with the ideal of a parliamentary democracy.
What is best here is abandon emotion and the money pit that the government's ageing estate is guaranteed to become. I am not alone in this thought and there is already an e-petition here.
I urge you to sign it too.