During Question Time in the House last week, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for the Cotswolds, said the process for setting up the nursery had been 'unacceptable and undemocratic'.
Mr Clifton-Brown claimed that £400,000 had been spent on refurbishing Bellamy's bar, and that the proposal to rip it all out and turn it into a nursery would cost an additional £400,000.
Christopher Chope, Conservative MP for Christchurch, said it was a 'reckless waste of taxpayers' money'. He recently presented a petition to the Commons against converting the bar into a nursery signed by 470 people.
Speaking on behalf of the Commission, Nick Harvey, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, said 'the recent refurbishment in Bellamy's involves a significant amount of work and furnishing that can be reused' and that 'about a third of the cost can be used directly'.
Labour MPs gave their backing to the project. Joan Walley, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said that 'workplace nurseries are important'. Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, criticised what he called '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 of the House John Bercow said that Parliament is 'behind the times' and needs to be more family-friendly.
The Commission has stated that the bar is 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.
- Will a House of Commons nursery for MPs and staff be a waste of taxpayers' money? Vote in this week's poll at http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/home/
