Parliament and Politics: Lord Wakeham, Leader of the House of Lords, applies gold leaf to an ornamental railing to 'top off' the first stage of the pounds 4.9m redevelopment of the Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster

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Lord Wakeham, Leader of the House of Lords, applies gold leaf to an ornamental railing to 'top off' the first stage of the pounds 4.9m redevelopment of the Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster

The tower, the highest and largest in the world when built in the 1860s, is the document store for the Houses of Parliament. The redevelopment will be finished in May next year