The absolutely absurd British House of Commons
The British House of Commons has some over the top rules for their members to follow. Saying that these bizarre rules make the sessions hilarious, is an understatement.
1. Directly referring to someone's name
The MP's have to refer to each other as "the honourable member for.." the position they are elected to. If the MP's don't remember the which position the person holds, they refer to them as "the honourable gentleman" or "the honourable lady".
If addressing someone from the same party, they are referred to as "my honourable friend" while members of the privy council are referred to as "the right honourable".
The exception to this rule, is the Speaker who can refer to anyone he wants by name.
2. Photography
No one is allowed to take photos or shoot any sort of videos while inside the chamber. The only cameras are the fixed TV cameras that let public view the debate from a specific angle. Photography is also banned in most of the Palace of Westminster for security reasons and restricted to public areas of Westminster hall, St.Stephens Hall as well as private rooms.
3. No clapping (only making weird noises)
The members, if they feel the urge to cheer after a certain statement are not allowed to clap. Clapping is seen against the spirit of the debate. So instead the members now make the sound of " eerrr, eerrrr..". A weird sound indeed. However, originally it was '"hear,hear" then it slowly evolved overtime and became 'ear 'ear and eventually "eerrr err..". One can only wonder what it'll develop into next.
Clapping would certainly disrupt discussions but making this annoying noise is somehow seen acceptable.
4. The almighty speaker
The MP's are only allowed to speak to only person in the House of Commons - The Speaker. Nobody else is to be directly addressed. The politicians thus speak while beginning their sentences with "Mr Speaker", and referring to "her" or "she" instead of "you" while making points about the opposition or members of the same party.
In reality, members to chat and whisper with each other on the back benches. However, this is not part of the debate.
5. Unparliamentry language
The house as strict rules over 'unparliamentry language'. Members who use certain words that are deemed parliamentary are told to withdraw the word immediately by the Speaker. These words include 'idoit', 'conman' and especially 'liar'.
6. Wear armour in the chamber
It has been illegal to wear a suit of armour in the House of Commons for just over 700 years. This stems from a 1313 statute passed under King Edward II named Statutum de Defensione portandi Arma (Statute Forbidding the wearing of Weapons)
Before this, armour was fine. The bill was apparently passed because “certain persons” had disrupted debates. Swords in the chamber are also banned by the same statute, and MPs are to this day given a loop next to their coat hook to hang their swords in the cloakroom.
7. Prime Minister questions (essentially a rap battle without the rapping)
Every Wednesday at mid-day, MP's get 30 minutes to ask the PM any questions they feel like, while the leader of the opposition gets to ask 6 questions. The PM has to answer all of them, on live TV. It gives the PM a chance to prove how good he/she is by tackling these questions under pressure.
Over the years the trend seems to have shifted from mature debates to MP's literally roasting each other (in a civilised manner, of course). This has led to some hilarious debates with the PM almost acting like a stand up comedian whence dealing with comments and hecklers. This might seem absurd at first however, this type of freedom is an important expression of democracy itself.
Disappointed at your country's parliament, aren't you?
1. Directly referring to someone's name
The MP's have to refer to each other as "the honourable member for.." the position they are elected to. If the MP's don't remember the which position the person holds, they refer to them as "the honourable gentleman" or "the honourable lady".If addressing someone from the same party, they are referred to as "my honourable friend" while members of the privy council are referred to as "the right honourable".
The exception to this rule, is the Speaker who can refer to anyone he wants by name.
2. Photography
3. No clapping (only making weird noises)
The members, if they feel the urge to cheer after a certain statement are not allowed to clap. Clapping is seen against the spirit of the debate. So instead the members now make the sound of " eerrr, eerrrr..". A weird sound indeed. However, originally it was '"hear,hear" then it slowly evolved overtime and became 'ear 'ear and eventually "eerrr err..". One can only wonder what it'll develop into next.
Clapping would certainly disrupt discussions but making this annoying noise is somehow seen acceptable.
4. The almighty speaker
The MP's are only allowed to speak to only person in the House of Commons - The Speaker. Nobody else is to be directly addressed. The politicians thus speak while beginning their sentences with "Mr Speaker", and referring to "her" or "she" instead of "you" while making points about the opposition or members of the same party.
In reality, members to chat and whisper with each other on the back benches. However, this is not part of the debate.
5. Unparliamentry language
The house as strict rules over 'unparliamentry language'. Members who use certain words that are deemed parliamentary are told to withdraw the word immediately by the Speaker. These words include 'idoit', 'conman' and especially 'liar'.
6. Wear armour in the chamber
It has been illegal to wear a suit of armour in the House of Commons for just over 700 years. This stems from a 1313 statute passed under King Edward II named Statutum de Defensione portandi Arma (Statute Forbidding the wearing of Weapons)
Before this, armour was fine. The bill was apparently passed because “certain persons” had disrupted debates. Swords in the chamber are also banned by the same statute, and MPs are to this day given a loop next to their coat hook to hang their swords in the cloakroom.
7. Prime Minister questions (essentially a rap battle without the rapping)
Every Wednesday at mid-day, MP's get 30 minutes to ask the PM any questions they feel like, while the leader of the opposition gets to ask 6 questions. The PM has to answer all of them, on live TV. It gives the PM a chance to prove how good he/she is by tackling these questions under pressure.
Over the years the trend seems to have shifted from mature debates to MP's literally roasting each other (in a civilised manner, of course). This has led to some hilarious debates with the PM almost acting like a stand up comedian whence dealing with comments and hecklers. This might seem absurd at first however, this type of freedom is an important expression of democracy itself.
Disappointed at your country's parliament, aren't you?
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