Lawmakers ponder major repairs to UK's Parliament

The Palace of Westminster including St Stephen's Tower housing the famous Big Ben clock in London, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. British lawmakers are considering whether they will need to abandon the House of Commons for the first time since World War II. Legislators were meeting Monday to discuss if future maintenance work to the Palace of Westminster _ home to the Commons and the House of Lords _ would need the two chambers to briefly move out. Consideration of possible repairs follows the disclosure in October that Parliament's clock tower _ often known as Big Ben _ is nearly 18 inches (nearly half a meter) out of line. The palace, which was rebuilt in the mid-19th Century, is expected to need major repairs in the coming years. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Palace of Westminster including St Stephen's Tower housing the famous Big Ben clock in London, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. British lawmakers are considering whether they will need to abandon the House of Commons for the first time since World War II. Legislators were meeting Monday to discuss if future maintenance work to the Palace of Westminster _ home to the Commons and the House of Lords _ would need the two chambers to briefly move out. Consideration of possible repairs follows the disclosure in October that Parliament's clock tower _ often known as Big Ben _ is nearly 18 inches (nearly half a meter) out of line. The palace, which was rebuilt in the mid-19th Century, is expected to need major repairs in the coming years. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LONDON (AP) ? British lawmakers are considering whether they will need to abandon the House of Commons for the first time since World War II.

Legislators were meeting Monday to discuss if future maintenance work to the Palace of Westminster ? home to the Commons and the House of Lords ? would need the two chambers to briefly move out.

Between 1940 and 1941, both Houses of Parliament met in London's Church House, after bombs destroyed the Commons chamber and damaged the Lords.

Consideration of possible repairs follows the disclosure in October that Parliament's clock tower ? known as Big Ben ? is nearly 18 inches (nearly half a meter) out of line.

The palace, which was rebuilt in the mid-19th Century, is expected to need major repairs in the coming years.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-23-EU-Britain-Parliament/id-9564fe33bed445e0a57a41d86af8e2a2

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