Parliament Square

Buildings looking upon the square include the churches Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's, Westminster, the Middlesex Guildhall which is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Government Offices Great George Street serving HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, and Portcullis House. Roads that branch off the Parliament Square are St Margaret Street (towards Millbank), Broad Sanctuary (towards Victoria Street), Great George Street (towards Birdcage Walk), Parliament Street (leading into Whitehall) and Bridge Street (leading onto Westminster Bridge). == History ==

Original layout Parliament Square was laid out in 1868 in order to open up the space around the Palace of Westminster and improve traffic flow, and featured London's first traffic signals. A substantial amount of property had to be cleared from the site. The architect responsible was Sir Charles Barry. Its original features included the Buxton Memorial Fountain, which was removed in 1949 and placed in its present position in nearby Victoria Tower Gardens in 1957. In 1949, the design for the replanning of the Parliament Square area, Westminster, London was carried out by the architect, George Grey Wornum (1888–1957). Post Second World War changes The plans to redesign the Square predated the Second World War as the Ministry of Transport suggested: that a larger central island was necessary to allow traffic more room in Great George Street. If the northern side of the central island were lengthened it was expected that the frequent traffic blocks at the junction of Parliament Street and Bridge Street with Parliament Square would be greatly reduced. Following the war, London County Council submitted a revised plan that was agreed by the Ministry of Transport and legislated for by Parliament with the '''''' (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. lvi). The act was required due to the mixed ownership of the land. The redesign included putting new roads, pavement and gardens in the area. As Great George Street was widened and an existing road was moved, the Buxton Memorial Fountain had to be removed. Because Victorian style architecture was unpopular at the time, some in Parliament argued it should never be re-erected: at least one parliamentarian said it had "no artistic merit whatever" The act provided that the fountain could be removed, but required its re-erection. The central garden of the square was transferred from the Parliamentary Estate to the control of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It has responsibility to light, cleanse, water, pave, and repair the garden, and has powers to make bylaws for the garden. == Public demonstrations ==

The east side of the square, lying opposite one of the main entrances to the Palace of Westminster, has historically been a common site of protest against government action or inaction. Reclaim the Streets On May Day 2000 the square was transformed into a giant allotment by a Reclaim the Streets guerrilla gardening action. Parliament Square Peace Campaign Brian Haw staged a continual protest there for several years, campaigning against British and American action in Iraq. Starting on 2 June 2001, Haw left his post only once, on 10 May 2004 – and then because he had been arrested on the charge of failing to leave the area during a security alert – and returned the following day when he was released. The alleged disruption caused by Haw's protest led Parliament to insert a clause into the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) making it illegal to protest in Parliament Square (or, indeed, in a large area reaching roughly half a mile in all directions) without first obtaining the permission of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. As well as sparking a great deal of protest from various groups on the grounds of infringement of civil liberties including the European Convention on Human Rights, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 was initially unsuccessful in accomplishing its goals: Brian Haw was held to be exempt from needing authorisation in a High Court ruling, as his protest had started before the act came into effect (though any new protests would be covered); Haw remained in Parliament Square. Later, the Court of Appeal overturned this ruling, forcing Haw to apply for police authorisation to continue his protest. The provisions of that act relating to Parliament Square were repealed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which provides for a different regime of "prohibited activities". The Parliament Square Peace Campaign was a peace campaign started by Brian Haw in 2001 and carried on by Barbara Tucker until 2013. Democracy Village In May 2010, a peace camp known as Democracy Village was set up on the square to protest (initially) against the British government's involvement in invasions in the Middle East, which became an eclectic movement encompassing left-wing causes and anti-globalisation protests. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson appealed to the courts to have them removed and, after demonstrators lost an appeal in July 2010, Lord Neuberger ruled that the protesters camping on the square should be evicted. The final tents were removed in January 2012. Palestine Action On 9 August 2025, a large demonstration in support of Palestine Action was held at Parliament Square. When Big Ben chimed 1 p.m. during the protest, large numbers of demonstrators revealed signs which read "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action", leading to the arrest of 532 people—the largest made by the Metropolitan Police on a single day in the previous 10 years. ==Statues==

The Parliament Square is home to twelve statues of British, Commonwealth, and Anglosphere political figures. They are listed here in anti-clockwise order, beginning with Winston Churchill's statue, which faces Parliament. ==Panorama==