The UK’s leading political parties are reassessing their office space in the capital following this year’s general election.
The Labour Party has launched a requirement for 10,000 sq ft of new space as it prepares to vacate its headquarters at Anquila Corporation’s 1-2 Brewers Green, SW1, which is due for redevelopment next year.
Agent Jones Shackel Oldham has been instructed to source the offices, with options south of the River Thames being considered by the party for the first time.
The wider net being cast by Labour, which has traditionally been based in and around Westminster, SW1, reflects the shortage of small offices close to parliament, owing to the volume of office space lost to residential conversion in recent years.
Tuckerman associate director Harry Cormack said: “There is a severe lack of stock for smaller units around parliament. A lot of the buildings that house political organisations are former houses, and due to permitted development rights a lot of them have been turned back into flats.”
However, a source said the final decision on whether to leave SW1 was a matter of debate among the party’s leadership.
Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party has also begun looking for new offices in the capital.
The party will continue to be headquartered in Devon but it is searching for a 1,000 sq ft satellite office in SW1.
The Liberal Democrat Party is also considering its future office requirements in London.
A source said the party could sublet some of its existing space at 8-10 Great George Street, SW1, where it occupies 6,800 sq ft, ahead of a rent review next year. Its lease expires in 2024.
