MPs argue over plans for House of Commons nursery

Labour, meanwhile, has accused the Tories of being 'anachronistic'.

The House of Commons Commission is planning to turn a bar in the House of Commons into a nursery which will provide childcare for up to 40 children.

However, during House of Commons Question Time, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for Cotswold, said the process for setting up the nursery had been 'unacceptable and undemocratic'.

He claimed that £400,000 had been spent on refurbishing Bellamy's bar, and that the proposal to rip all this out and turn it into a nursery will cost an additional £400,000.

Nick Harvey, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, speaking on behalf of the Commission, said that 'the recent refurbishment in Bellamy's involves a significant amount of work and furnishing that can be reused'.

He claimed that 'about a third of the cost can be used directly'.

Labour MPs gave their backing to the project, with Joan Walley, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent, North saying that 'workplace nurseries are important', and the Labour MP for West Bromwich, East, Tom Watson, criticising the 'anachronistic and vociferous views of a minority of MPs'.

He said, 'There are plenty of places to get a beer in this place, but there is nowhere for our hard-working staff to drop off their kids.'

Speaker John Bercow is also backing the plan, saying that Parliament is 'behind the times' and needs to be more family-friendly.

Christopher Chope, Conservative MP for Christchurch, who claimed it is a 'reckless waste of taxpayers' money', recently presented a petition to the Commons signed by 470 people, against converting the bar into a nursery.

The Commission has stated that the bar is still the 'most suitable site available' and wants to have the nursery up and running by the end of August, in time for the new Parliament, after the election.