I love the Chamber of the House of Commons, I'm a Chamber
devotee or a Chamber fanatic. I suppose really I regard it as the
cockpit of our democracy.
It is the heart of Parliament and the heart of democracy
for this country
and it's a great example to the world. That's why the Chamber is so important.
The Chamber is really the heart of our Parliament. It's the one place where Members all
gather together to ask questions, to debate,
to legislate.
So this is the House of Commons Chamber.
It's said that Churchill himself got involved in the discussion about how big
the Chamber could be
and it was felt it would make it more intimate
and a bit more argumentative if it was smaller, so that people
were packed in for the big debates.
The Government sits on this side, or to the right of the Speaker.
The front bench is for Government ministers and on the left hand side the
opposition and the shadow ministers
sit on these benches here.
I don't believe that millions of people are losing confidence in our legal system, I believe
that they are concerned about the ability of the European Court.
So if a Member wants to reserve a seat for the day,
other than the front benches which are reserved for ministers or shadow
ministers,
Members would have to write their name on a prayer card,
put it in the prayer card holder,
and that would reserve their seat for the day, as long as they're here for prayers, which
is always the first business of the day.
On Prime Minister's
Questions,
it's amazing how many seats are reserved and how many people come in for prayers.
So, synonymous with the sitting on the House is the Mace, which is always present whenever the House
is sitting.
The Mace is carried in the by the Serjeant at Arms each day,
and is placed either on the Table or below the Table if the House is in committee.
Maces belong to the royal household.
The current mace was made for Charles II
and when the House dissolves at the end of its term they actually go back to the
royal household where they are stored safely.
This is called the government despatch box, so any minister, including the
Prime Minister,
that is making a speech to the House or replying to questions from other members,
would stand at this despatch box.
It can be incredibly intimidating,
particularly when the House is very busy,
as is the opposition box.
If we look back in history, we've had these great politicians
that have been at that despatch box, banging away,
making statements.
So this is the Speaker's Chair, where the Speaker sits
and he is here
to keep order in the House,
particularly during very rowdy and busy debates. "Order! Perhaps we can now make some progress with short questions and short answers."
In front of the Speaker's Chair
are the clerks who advise the Speaker and Members on procedural matters.
The Clerk of the House usually sits in this chair
and the Clerk Assistant there.
When Members are asked to decide on a particular issue coming through the House
of Commons
the Speaker will call a division.
The division lobbies run parallel to the Chamber on either side.
We have the ayes behind the government side and the noes behind the opposition side.
So if you're a Member of Parliament and you want to vote for a particular amendment or bill
you will go through the aye lobby.
Or if you're against it you'll go through no.
This is the Serjeant at Arms' chair.
We are there to represent the authority of the Speaker.
Up here we have the Press Gallery, which is where the media
sit and Hansard, the official reporters, and they record everything, so there is
a record of
what is said and done in the House of Commons.
In the other galleries around either side is where the public sit.
A very important element to parliamentary business is that
it doesn't only sit but is seen to sit.
The other very special thing about the House of Commons Chamber
is you get a sense of the power of it;
how the decisions that are taken in this place affect everybody's
lives.
The stakes are always high. It's always a big occasion.