Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh Building

Debate between Martin Rhodes and Torcuil Crichton

Monday 19th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Torcuil Crichton]

I do, and I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I will detail and explore some of those options later in my speech. She is right: it is shameful that we have this shrouded ghost on Garnethill casting a shadow over the city.

To summarise, the fire that brought down the Mackintosh building broke out in 2014, as art students were finalising their end-of-year degree show. That fire was devastating and heartrending—I was in a meeting of another cultural board as the news broke, and people cried in that meeting as the smoke rose above Garnethill. Around 70% of the building was saved, although the library and the famous hen run—that glazed passageway so beloved by generations of art students—were lost. Despite that blow, the Glasgow School of Art and its patrons across the globe rose to the occasion and committed themselves to the faithful restoration of the building. That was painstaking and specialised work, but it was moving on apace when a second and much more devastating fire swept through the building in 2018, engulfing not just the Mackintosh building but the neighbouring ABC music venue on Sauchiehall Street.

The 2018 blaze was so fierce and all-consuming that its cause may never be known, but its consequences certainly are. Glaswegians are reminded of the destruction every single day, as the charred husk of the Mack building stoops withered and crippled on the city’s skyline. I was up there on Friday, between events at the Royal National Mòd in Glasgow—I congratulate the organisers and the city for hosting a brilliant week in the city of the Gaels. The contrast between the vibrant, youthful buzz of the revived and living culture that the Mòd represents and the tragic shadow hanging over the Mack could not have been stronger.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that any future plans for the Mack need to be based on learning lessons from its recent tragic past?

[Torcuil Crichton]

I do. There is a need for greater transparency, and there are great lessons to be learned from the recent management of the estate and the building.

The Glasgow School of Art has committed to restoring the building. In July this year, eight years after the second fire and following extended and painful arbitration with the insurers, the GSA published a report outlining that the cost of restoring the Mack is estimated to be £265 million at today’s prices. That is a simply insurmountable sum for Glasgow School of Art alone. It is more than five times its annual turnover. That is why I am making this speech this evening.

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin Rhodes]

From what my hon. Friend is saying, I think he agrees with me that, although we must look at all the options for delivering the restoration, we must remain focused on achieving the endpoint, which is the restoration.

[Torcuil Crichton]

Restoring the Mack should be everyone’s priority.

All proposals are worth exploring around the table with all interested parties. The Minister who will answer from the Dispatch Box tonight has experience and a reputation for conflict resolution. She is ideally placed to persuade both Governments to seriously consider how they can achieve this joint aim: the faithful restoration of the Mack as a living, breathing school and studio, sparking the inspiration for another generation and another century in Scotland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Martin Rhodes and Torcuil Crichton

Wednesday 10th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote Scottish interests abroad.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

10. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote Scottish interests abroad.

Scotland’s Architectural Heritage

Debate between Martin Rhodes and Torcuil Crichton

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend talks about the restoration of the art school. Does he agree that it would be an important impetus to give focus to an area that is so rich in cultural heritage and the arts? The art school is there, but so too, in the vicinity of Sauchiehall Street, are the King’s Theatre, the Pavilion, the Theatre Royal, the Royal Conservatoire, the Glasgow Film Theatre and so on. The restoration of the art school could be the impetus to bring that together and create a much more vibrant area—at the moment it feels a bit neglected.

[Torcuil Crichton]

My hon. Friend echoes the bare bones, or the Z shape, of Glasgow School of Art board’s economic case—that the Glasgow School of Art, and the Mack building, is the anchor for that whole zone of development in Glasgow city centre, because it is such an important landmark, one of national importance, of which we are all collectively the custodians. It should fall on us as a nation to restore the building to its glory. This Government should be willing and ready to engage with the Glasgow School of Art board in that project. It is no less than what Glasgow, Scotland and the legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh deserve.

When Notre Dame was consumed by flames, the French Government threw the entire strength of the state into the effort of restoration—whatever it took, whatever it cost. Calling on talents from all over the world, they rebuilt that symbol of the nation in record time. I am not questioning the ability or the experience of the architects and engineers involved in the restoration project in Glasgow, or the commitment of Glasgow School of Art to return the Mack into a working undergraduate school, but I am calling on the UK Government to be ready and willing to help.

Some have argued that the responsibility for restoring Mackintosh’s masterpiece should be taken out of the hands of the arts school and placed in an independent body, such as a specialist board of trustees or an Olympic-style delivery system. There are templates for that that have worked before, but it would need careful consideration and talks between all parties. The aim is the same—everyone has the same destination, and that destination is restoration.

I am not calling on the Department to bigfoot the art school or trample on the duties of the Scottish Government. I am just calling for positive engagement from the UK Government, for them to roll up their sleeves and find a solution for what everyone wants—the restoration of the Mack. It can be done; I am sure it will be done. Evidence for what can be done is not far from us, in the Chamber of the House of Commons. Bombed out in 1941, faithfully restored after the war, it is still working its political alchemy on us all. That is what we want for the Mackintosh building, too—for it to rise from the rubble, to work its artistic magic on students, on Glasgow, on Scotland and the world.