Yes, yes, yes: move parliament to Hull when the Palace of Westminster undergoes renovation (Opinion, 28 January). But don’t stop there. Make the move permanent: Hull will be city of culture next year. What’s not to love? Most ordinary folk never see the inside, so sell the Thames-side site for Middle East money to develop (under the watchful eye of English Heritage, of course) leaving the famous exterior for all to admire as now.
If Hull’s too much for soft southerners to stomach, then think Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield. You build a new efficient parliament and free Premier Inn-style accommodation for MPs and peers: end of expenses controversy. You relocate every civil servant too. That should stabilise house prices in the capital. Leave the financial sector in London, making City bosses work harder to arrange a cosy lunch with a minister. HS2 becomes worthwhile, especially if a sensible trans-Pennine line connects Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. And you’ve stopped the economy sliding inexorably into London.
Jane Bennett-Powell
London
• “Parliament repairs could exile MPs for six years” (Report, 27 January). Imagine my disappointment as I read further and found that the envisioned far-flung gulag was a Westminster courtyard.
Michael Cunningham
Wolverhampton
• When parliament goes into voluntary exile, will the chance be taken to experiment with an alternative seating configuration more conducive to responsible and collaborative government? The present adversarial seating plan seems only to foster party political grandstanding and loutish behaviour. Better still, perhaps the £3.52bn could go towards a new purpose-built permanent home rather than the repair of an inappropriate and costly relic of the past?
Richard Giles
Tynemouth
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