It is not just parliament’s buildings that require extensive renovation | Timothy Garton Ash

Our lawmakers are held in contempt. From prime minister’s questions to special advisers, the whole institution needs an overhaul

The most famous parliament in the world is falling apart. That neo-gothic pile on the banks of the Thames needs a multi-year, multibillion-pound restoration. But it’s not just the building that’s in disrepair: the institution itself cries out for a thorough overhaul.

Yesterday, when MPs left Westminster to plunge into the election campaign, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, survived a slimy government manoeuvre intended to make his own re-election unlikely. Bercow’s personality may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he has been a genuinely reforming Speaker. Over the fixed term of the next parliament, he should lead a renovation not merely of its stones but of its democratic functioning.

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