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Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
Nicole Morley

House of Lords could be permanently moved to the North of England

The House of Lords could be moved from London to the North of England.

It's said that Boris Johnson's raft of constitutional reforms could include moving peers from the capital permanently, according to the report in the Sunday Times.

The city being touted as the new base is reportedly York, which boasts good transport links to London and has government-owned land close to the train station which currently isn't in use.

Birmingham is also supposedly being considered.

The prime minister's new strategy could also see MPs hold sessions outside of London.

A Number 10 source told the Sunday Times : "This will serve as a strong signal that we are serious about refocusing attention and investment away from London.

"It will set an example for the rest of the public sector and, of course, businesses looking to expand beyond the M25."

While a government source said: "The PM is also keen to have parliamentary sessions in the regions, be it Sunderland or Manchester, so people get a chance to feel democracy in action first hand."

Earlier this week Chroniclelive reported on calls to also relocate the Conservative Party headquarters out of London , with North West Durham's newly elected Tory MP suggesting the North East could be the "perfect" spot.

When asked about the potential move, Tory Party Chairman James Cleverly said: "What we are looking at is a whole range of options about making sure every part of the UK feels properly connected from politics."

"When the PM stood up the day after the election and said this is going to be the people's government he meant it. That meant connecting people with government and politics.

"The referendum in 2016 wasn't just about our relationship with the EU, it was about millions of people and their relationship with politics as a whole."

When pressed to say if the move would happen, he replied: "We might. It's one of a range of things that we are looking into. But fundamentally what this is about is about demonstrating that we are going to do things differently."

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