Palace refurb

First of all it was Houses of Parliament and now it's Buckingham Palace that we, the tax payers will be paying for. I would argue that the H of P are more iconic and yes why can't BP become the H of P whilst renovations are taking place and then have BP as an hotel or made into flats - affordable of course!

I worship the ground she walks on, Gilly, but I must say I am baulking at the amount of money it is going to take to do this refurbishment. I was happy for the taxpayer to pay towards the repairs to Windsor - a far more historic building than Buck House. I suppose they could always sell it to Donald Trump! Then the Queen could hire back bits she only needs occasionally - the balcony, the State Dining Room for wedding banquets, etc.....

Surely no one really believes no Buck house would mean a drop in tourism , all that money so they can use the balcony to wave to the crowds ,once a year for grouping the colour and for weddings

It is so wrong , hospitals are closing, people are sleeping on the streets and we have to pay for this

I'm with you gillybob we are told we are in austerity but not the royal family it seems tourists would still come if it wasn't there if they sold it and it reopened people would flock to London to stay in it .

Oh dear FarNorth I was almost hoping that no one would start at thread on this as I feel so angry about it .

Where to start. Does the queen own BP? no.
Does she live there rent free? Yes
Is she wealthy? Yes
Does she receive state benefits? Yes
Does she pay bedroom tax? No
Does she have lots of other luxurious properties at her and her extended families disposal? Yes

Taking all the above into consideration I think BP should be sold to the highest bidder ASAP and the money used to do something worthwhile and not wasted on an over indulged, greedy beyond belief family (and all their hangers on from now to eternity) who live in cloud cuckoo land and couldn't give a stuff whether the peasants (that's you and I folks) get to eat or keep warm.

Sorry to those who worship the ground she walks on, but that's just my (strong) feeling.

I would rather the money was spent on building a new up to date Parliament building, with all the technological innovations, and less of the ridiculous pomp. The Royal family have got other houses to live in.

But I'm afraid that will never happen and it would cost even more.

Maybe they could convert Buck House to Parliament, now there's a thought!

more tourists visit the London Eye than Buck house and the top attraction is The Tower. I just cannot believe tourists come to this country just to see Buck house , if it were demolished it would make no difference to tourism

It's been a bumper year for tourism in Greater Britain.Like it or not its there ,and to many visitors from other countries it's an iconic building and just the whiff of the possibility the Queen or the Royal family may be in residence is a big draw.Iceland bounced back after the banking crisis thanks to their tourism industry. With less manufacturing and traditional industries tourism creates lots of jobs, and swells the public coffers feeding into the NHS etc.What would happen if it fell into disrepair, a great big eyesore at the end of the Mall.Or bulldozed and replaced with more Shards or car parks ?The landscape of London in certain parts of the city are a fundamental part of its character and worth retaining.

When public services especially the NHS are struggling so much it does seem totally OTT. However our royal family do encourage more tourism.

Well no as it has already been said that after our present Queen is no longer with us the remaining royal family will not use BH as a royal residence as they all dislike it and it will be sold to be an hotel so why not do that now. the Queen is known to prefer Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral. I'd sell it off now.

It was stated in news that this is a main residence. But I thought that Windsor Castle was and that was why tax millions were spent on this refurb after the Great Fire. And then there is Clarence House, St James Palace, etc. Makes me wonder about the taxes we are paying, too. Anyhoo... just been searching Rightmove. It would be cheaper to move.