London's proposed immense Chinese Embassy...

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

The vast, prestigious, 'Listed' building the Chinese own (!!), yet do not occupy is sited scarily close to far too many Inner London 'sensitivities'. Plus their proposed refurbishment plans show a lot of 'REDACTED' usage.

Meanwhile, latest report into renovation / repair costs of UK's Parliament / Big Ben etc Westminster complex has just warned that conditions are even worse than feared. Could so easily go the way of that French cathedral...

Apparently, all options are eye-watering expensive, and will take ruddy decades.
Doing the needful 'on the fly' with UK.Gov in residence is probably the most messy and longest-winded.
Moving either 'MPs' or 'Lords' out of their wings during step-wise refurbishment is probably quickest and cheapest, but neither group wants to go first...

The MPs do not want to lose the kudos of their location, even temporarily.
They have understandable fear that project will run long, longer, even longer...
The 'Lords' fear that, as soon as they are shuffled 'out of sight', they'll be lost 'out of mind'.
And, yes, that project will over-run appallingly, exiling them until forgotten / irrelevant...

Seems some wag has now proposed the two problems be set against each other.
If either MPs or Lords would move into the very, very prestigious 'Chinese Embassy' building while their wing is refurbished, then UK.Gov can reasonably tell Chinese to 'Hold Off'.
Technically, it 'Kicks The Can Down The Road', a solution ever-beloved of bureaucracy...

Besides, UK.Gov owe China.Gov a 'thumb in eye' for blatant, brutal breaching of those Hong Kong terms...

[jemhouston]

Starting to remind me of the USSR / Russian Embassy in DC.