The SNP has claimed that the House of Commons has spent over £20 million on refurbishment and improvement works since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Figures obtained by the party under a freedom of information request showed a total of £20,107,400 has been spent on the parliamentary estate since the vote.
The SNP said the 2024/25 figures were the highest on record at £2.5 million, which it equated to the cost of 74 nurse salaries in Scotland. SNP MP Brendan O’Hara criticised the spending, stating that it highlights the true cost of Westminster during a cost-of-living crisis.
O’Hara said: “This damning data reveals the true cost of Westminster – a system where, in the midst of a UK Government-induced cost-of-living crisis, taxpayers must foot the bill for millions of pounds of refurbishments each year.” He contrasted this with the SNP’s priorities of bringing down waiting lists, growing the economy and tackling child poverty.
The MP argued that the spending demonstrates a broken system and called for Scotland to have the right to decide its own future through independence. “If Westminster has splashed £20 million on refurbishment costs alone since the independence referendum, just think of the money drained by the broken system overall since 2014,” he said.
