The Daily Telegraph reports that John Bercow, the new speaker of the House of Commons, is to have his grace-and-favour apartment in Westminster refurbished at a cost of £200,000 to the tax-payer. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
An apartment is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a large building. The word apartment is more commonly found in American English. The British English equivalent would normally be flat. However, since the Speaker's residence is a rather grand suite of rooms in the Palace of Westminster, the word apartment is preferred—flat would sound too banal (as in council flat, block of flats, one-bedroom flat, etc.).
An apartment is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a large building. The word apartment is more commonly found in American English. The British English equivalent would normally be flat. However, since the Speaker's residence is a rather grand suite of rooms in the Palace of Westminster, the word apartment is preferred—flat would sound too banal (as in council flat, block of flats, one-bedroom flat, etc.).
