The Problems With Parliament

The Houses of Parliament in Westminster are grand buildings full of history and tradition. However, some of the ways in which parliament is run are outdated and effecting the democratic process for the worse. In this blog I will outline three ways in which I think we can transform parliament into a modern and dynamic centre of democracy.  


Shush!

You know how it is, you settle down to watch Prime Ministers Questions after lunch, looking forward to the hearty debate ahead. Then after the second syllable of the first question half the house are shouting and jeering, which seems to go on every time anyone speaks in the Commons. This childish behaviour seems inappropriate and frankly annoying. If the House of Commons is going to function as a modern centre of democracy it has to grow up and tell the five year olds who call themselves MPs to pipe down!

Hurry it up. 

The voting system in the House of Commons is long and laborious. It involves each MP physically placing them self in a place that signifies for or against a motion. In an age of instant communication and highly developed technology it seems fascicle that we still rely on such an out-of-date system. Voting can take hours to complete so moving with the times is not just sensible it could also speed up the parliamentary process and make our democracy more dynamic.

Move it around. 

There are two issues with the layout of the House of Commons, firstly it is simply not big enough. The argument is that it was not built for the amount of MPs we have today and that it is rarely filled. It would apparently look bad if we had a parliament that was vast and empty the majority of the time. However, why hold parliamentary sessions when there are so few MPs, surely this is counter productive? It is also frankly silly when you see MPs standing by the sides because there is not enough space.

Secondly, the House is clearly designed for two parties. We are entering into a world in which British politics is more plural and the House needs to represent this shift. The issue one faces with changing the set up or the size of the Commons would be one of wrecking a historical building or taking the historical magic out of parliament. And lets face it, who wants to be governed from a dreary modern building? However, they could refurbish the current building so it fits the purpose it is used for today.

Therefore,

I believe if the government instituted any one of these suggestions it would make for a better parliament, which in turn would lead to better and more dynamic leadership of the country. The traditions and history of the House of Commons are great and we should cherish them, but there is no point being stuck in the past.