Members of parliament and the lords may have to decamp to a 1980s conference centre for up to three years to allow for structural works to the Palace of Westminster. Financial Times

The House of Commons Commission, the body that runs the palace, must decide within the next three years on the scope of the most extensive refit in more than a century. Work will have to start within about five years.

The £250m-plus project could take three decades to complete if builders work around MPs and Lords.

A faster, three-year option involves convening parliament outside the palace at four possible venues: the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre; Methodist Central Hall; Church House, the Church of England headquarters; and the former Greater London Council building on the south bank of the Thames.