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Boris Johnson's Plan To Move Parliament To York Effectively Rejected

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Boris Johnson’s proposal to move parliament to York while the Palace of Westminster is refurbished has been effectively rejected.

The prime minister had asked the body responsible for the multi-billion pound refurbishment of the crumbling palace to explore the possibility of moving parliament to York while work is carried out.

But like the so-called “Boris island” airport in the Thames estuary and the garden bridge across the river he backed while London mayor, the PM’s latest eye-catching big idea looks to have fallen by the wayside.

Last month Johnson said the idea would “make sense” as he works to establish a government hub in the historic Yorkshire city.

The Tories had also previously touted the idea of moving the House of Lords to York as the party looks to cement its December election gains in former Labour areas in the north and Midlands.

The PM wrote to the Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority, asking it to “consider a possible location outside London” while the Palace of Westminster is refurbished.

But the body said it is for MPs and peers to decide where they should sit and that it will not form part of the review of the works.

The repairs body said Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and lord speaker Lord Fowler told it that “as the location of the Houses is a matter for parliament, it does not form part of the programme’s scope, and consequently would be inappropriate for us to explore further”.

In a letter to the prime minister, sponsor body chief...

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