Parliament spends £50,000 on new logo that looks almost exactly the same as the old one

A brand new logo commissioned by the Houses of Parliament has reportedly cost £50,000 – but it looks almost identical to the old one.

Consultants hired by officials at the Houses were tasked with updating the famous crowned Portcullis logo so that it would be ‘less confusing and inconsistent’.

However, the costly rebrand has simply seen the logo lose a few dots and have the words ‘Houses of Parliament’ replaced with ‘UK Parliament’.

A Parliamentary spokeswoman defending the changes, telling the Sunday Times: ‘The visual identity of the UK Parliament has been reviewed and updated by the administrations of both houses because the current version does not work successfully on digital channels.

‘The new version works with mobile responsive websites, and is more accessible and readable.’

Professor Jonathan Drori, chairman of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement, said the logo was seen by the public ‘as a gate to keep them out’.

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He added that Parliament must make more effort to be ‘welcoming’ to visitors.

The Portcullis logo, the badge of Henry VII and his son Henry VIII, has been used as a decoration in the Palace of Westminster since its rebuilding after the fires of 1512.

It has been used on official House of Commons documents since 1967.