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A Merseyside MP believes she can provide a convincing argument that Parliament should move to Liverpool while multi-billion pound repairs are carried out to its historic building on the Thames.

The taxpayer faces a bill of up to £7.1 billion to stop the Palace of Westminster falling down unless MPs and peers agree to move out while the work takes place.

Wirral South MP Alison McGovern said: “So maybe it is just pride in our city, or the chance to spend a little less time on trains, but I think I can convince you that the House of Commons, and the rest of Parliament, should move to Liverpool’s own St George’s Hall.

“Down in London, the Palace of Westminster is one of the most recognisable and historic buildings across the world. It dates from the mid-1800s and has over time needed to adapt to meet the needs of the modern workings of Members of Parliament.

"It’s been patched up many times, including after ferocious wartime bombing in 1941, that saw the commons end of the building all but obliterated.

“Speaking from experience, beautiful though it is, it badly leaks. And then there are the mice and moth infestations.

“Now, news yesterday emerged from an independent report by Deloittes on the cost of repair. If politicians and staff do not move out whilst works are done, it could cost as much as £7.1 billion. If we move out, that cost falls by several billion. Enough reason then to go, if only temporarily.

“Here in Liverpool we a have a spectacular building in St Georges Hall. It was reopened in 2007 by Prince Charles after a £23m refurbishment programme and it is a place that has for so many years been at the heart of the city. The building certainly has the architectural character to rival the Palace of Westminster.

“It’s even right next to Lime Street, so travelling MPs can get quickly back off to their constituency.

“But more importantly, temporarily relocating Parliament to Liverpool would have significant benefits for democracy. Let’s get our government out of central London and rebalance the centre of power in the UK. We concentrate too much in one city. It’s time to change that.

“The consequence of focusing all the powerful institutions in one place is not just wrong for the rest of us.

“It’s also bad for Londoners as their city becomes ever more crowded and unmanageable. It’s time we helped London too, by taking some of the strain. Housing and transport there are under massive pressures. Rebalancing could help that.

“Merseyside businesses would be more than equal to the challenge of providing the kind of support services that parliament needs. We have a superb and growing conference centre, to say nothing of the excellent hotels and so on.

“And even more, would our countries politicians benefit from a change. The culture at Westminster is rightly criticised as being inward-looking.

“Maybe it’s just time we got out of there for a while. As my Nan would say, a change is as good as a rest.”