Dudley North MP Ian Austin is calling for Parliament to be moved out of London- preferably to the West Midlands.

The House of Commons is due to vote today on plans to carry out repairs on the Palace of Westminster. MPs will choose between moving MPs and Lords out of the buildings whilst work is carried out or remaining in place whilst the work goes on around them, but Austin is backing an amendment calling for Parliament to be moved out of Westminster altogether.

He wants Parliament moved out of London to bring Parliament closer to the people it serves, kick-start the devolution of government and boost the regions.

Austin has previously moved a Parliamentary Bill proposing to move 100,000 civil services jobs from London to the regions, saving £10 billion from the sale of expensive London offices and an extra £725 million annually from cheaper property and staffing costs. Mr Austin said:

"Parliament badly needs refurbishment and I think we use this opportunity to move MPs and government departments out of London. Unlike other countries we’ve got government, Parliament, business, finance and the media all concentrated in London, so let’s set an example and move Parliament out of London – preferably to West Midlands in the middle of the country.

“I think that would take pressure off London’s overheated economy and imagine how moving government to the regions could help bring new investment and new jobs to areas like the Midlands.

"Most important of all, it would force the metropolitan elite ruining the government and the civil service to listen to the rest of us and find out what life is like outside London.”