An MP has called for the seat of Government to be moved from London to Manchester.

Graham Stringer says the dilapidated Palace of Westminster is crumbling and will need to be replaced within ten years.

And the Blackley and Broughton representative says the capital has enough advantages and the Houses of Parliament and Lords should eventually be moved north to Manchester.

He told the MEN: "I think sometime over the next five or ten years Parliament will have to be moved out of Westminster because the building is in a bad way. There's asbestos everywhere and it's infested with mice. We should take that opportunity to look at a permanent move.

"Manchester has the capacity. We are the second city in terms of economic power. We are growing. We are in the centre of the UK. But the most important thing is to de-centralise some economic power that London has afforded to itself unfairly.

"London has natural advantages, finance and it is near the centre of the European economy as well as great old buildings.

"Keeping the legislature there is a mistake and it means the centre is unbalanced. We would be better balanced by putting Parliament in Manchester together with a lot of civil servants. It would be better for Manchester, for the country and better in the end for London because they will have more space to create jobs in the finance sector."

Other counties like Australia (Canberra) have the seat of power outside the country's biggest city.

"This is a long-term argument and the real focus should be when the building I'm in at the moment comes to the end of its life. We should be then be looking at de-centralising jobs and authority into the English regions," said Mr Stringer.

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