Parliament

On Wednesday, the 22nd of August, the Bucknell in London group took a tour of the Parliament Building, which is near Westminster Abbey and connected to Big Ben. While there we had a very informative tourguide, Jan, who told us many facts including the history of the building and also the creation of the Parliament as the government. Government officials have been meeting at this building since the 1500s, however, most of the original building was destroyed in 1834. The only parts to have survived are the Jewel Tower and Westminster Hall.

Even before we entered the building, I knew it was going to be lavish and beautiful. The outside architecture was of an extremely intricate design, with carved brick or stone (I could not tell what it was) and small statues going up the length of the towers around the building. The building as a whole seemed to be of a gothic design and was enormous in size. Inside there were stunning gold backdrops, stained glass windows, beautifully decorated rooms, and elaborate ceilings and tile floors (especially in the central lobby). Our tourguide told us that the interior decorator's name was Pugent (I only caught the last name and am unaware of the correct spelling) and that he had a hand in designing everything from the ceiling to the floor.

The art inside the building was just as magnificent as the architecture. In every room there were grand portraits of previous royalty such as Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table inscribed into stone that went around the perimeter of the first room. There were also lavish murals on several of the walls depicting various events of history. Jan informed us that the two murals in the Royal Gallery took the painter most of his life to complete, and unfortunately, soon after he finished with them, he passed away.

As I mentioned before, our tourguide, Jan, was very informative. She told us many things about the history of the building and also a bit on the British government as well. I learned that Parliament is divided into three main sections: the Royal Gallery, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. On either end of the building there is the Victoria Tower, where a flag is raised when Parliament is in session, and the Clock Tower, also known as Big Ben. In the middle of the building is the Central Lobby, where 100s of people come through everyday. It is here where a UK citizen can come and request a meeting with their Parliament representative.

The Royal Gallery is where the traditional procession for the state opening of Parliament occurs. During this, the Queen walks down the length of the hall and everyone is lavishly dressed in traditional attire.
The House of Lords' theme color is red, since red is a sign of nobility. In the Lord's Chamber, members of the House of Lords come to work and discuss current events. Jan informed us that around 400 out of the 747 members are present within the House daily. In the front of the discussion room is the Queen's throne, dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria. As one can imagine, the throne and area surrounding it is quite astonishing. There is also a red wool sack where the Lord Chancellor sits as he would have done in the medieval times (although a lady now occupies this position). Besides the Lord Chancellor, what party you're in governs where you sit in the House. For example, the liberal democrats sit on the left side, the bishops sit on the right, and those not associated with a particular party sit in the cross section. Here members raise bills from the House of Commons or originate bills.

The House of Commons' theme color is green, as this color was originally a cheap color to produce thus signifying a lower class level. Since 1642, the reign of King Charles I, no Monarch has gone into the House of Commons. As with the House of Lords, where members sit in the discussion room is based off of what party they are in. There is a story associated with the House of Commons in which a member tried to enter into the House of Lords discussion room and got the door slammed in his face. He then took his black rod and knocked on the door. As you pass the door you can still see the area in which the member knocked on the door.

Whenever it comes time to vote on a bill, members use a rather elementary (yet effective) method known as a division election. The process is simple: if a member wants to pass the bill, s/he goes into the yes lobby. If the member does not want to pass the bill, s/he goes into the no lobby. They then give their names to the recorders and walk through the doors which are open just enough to allow one person to pass at a time.

While Jan was telling us this information, I began to realize that not only does the Queen have virtually no involvement in the government, but she also doesn't really have a lot of power anymore. When it comes to passing bills and regulating government, the main components are the members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Queen is really just there out of tradition.

I greatly enjoyed our tour of Parliament. The building, inside and out, is absolutely astonishing, and it was very interesting to learn the history of the building and the British government. I never realized how traditional the government is or for that matter how it even functioned! Touring this wonderful place is definitely a memory I never want to forget.