MP Angus Macdonald ‘appalled’ at opulence of new Cabinet Office in Glasgow after visit
A Highland MP said he was ‘shocked’ by the ‘opulence’ and emptiness of the UK government’s brand-new £150 million headquarters in Glasgow.
New Lib Dem MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire Angus MacDonald shared in a tweet that he was ‘appalled’ after a visit to the Cabinet Office at Atlantic Quay, saying he found few people were working in the new building as many decided to work from home.
As a member of the Scottish Affairs Committee we visited the Cabinet Office at Atlantic Quay in Glasgow. I was shocked by a) few seemed to be working in that vast building (working from home!)
— Angus MacDonald (@angusmacdlibdem) December 22, 2024
And b) the opulence of it.
Appalled actually
Speaking to The Times, he claimed that the office was “massively over-specified” given the amount of employees working from home, and that business owners in the Highlands would be “furious to see this profligacy.”
Civil servants are currently expected to spend at least 60 per cent of their time at a Government building or on official business - such as visiting stakeholders.
The Government Hub opened in Glasgow in 2022 and is part of a wider plan to relocate civil service roles out of London.
It is the second UK Government Hub in Scotland and home to HMRC’s Glasgow Regional Centre, which is expected to house 3,500 UK government employees from next year.
The Cabinet Office is part of a 300,000 sq three-building development at Atlantic Square development.
