Pound-wise England : Best Show? Parliamentary, Watson

If watching the British Parliament in action Sunday evenings on C-Span has inspired you to personally visit the best theater London has to offer--better than any Andrew Lloyd Webber musical playing on the West End--it’s a relatively easy matter to visit the rambunctious House of Commons or the more sedate House of Lords.

Like everything else in official British life, a letter of introduction to a Member of Paliament (MP), a hard-to-get special pass from the American Embassy, or some other personal contact smooths the way and makes for a more rewarding visit.

Failing that, most who want to can eventually gain admittance to afternoon or evening proceedings of either House, for the minor inconvenience of standing in line. But be forewarned: In peak summer months, this can be a three-hour wait; at other times of the year, visitors often walk right in.

Parliament sits from 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 9:30 a.m. on Friday. The first part of each House of Commons session is taken up by Question Time. That is what C-Span (America’s cable TV public affairs network) generally airs, and it is undoubtedly the most dramatic part of the Parliamentary day, when government departmental ministers are grilled by opposition MPs.

This fascinating and watchable exercise highlights the adversarial aspects of the House of Commons, although it represents only a small part of the lower chamber’s workload. Because of its point-counterpoint debating style, Question Time receives the most press and broadcast coverage, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the prime minister is on the griddle.

It is generally impossible to watch Question Time without a pass from an MP or special pass from the American Embassy because seats are usually taken by those who have parliamentary contacts or have made special arrangements. Despite published reports that the American Embassy can assist Americans desiring to watch Question Time, an embassy spokesman recently noted that “there are just too many people and too few visitor seats” for the embassy to give out special passes to American tourists.

Otherwise, to gain admittance to either House, visitors must line up across the street from Westminster Abbey at St. Stephen’s Gate, the public entrance to the Palace of Westminster, where both Houses meet. Spectators are usually admitted after 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and after 11 a.m. on Friday, although it pays to arrive considerably earlier.

Eventually, depending on space available (there are 179 public visitors’ seats), visitors are escorted in a group by metropolitan police through two sets of bomb detectors into St. Stephen’s Hall, where, after another wait, they are escorted to a security area to fill out a brief questionnaire.

While waiting in the security area, and if you want a record of what took place during your visit, ask for the form to request that a Hansard, the official journal of the House of Commons, be mailed to you. The fee is about $8.50 and can be paid for by writing your credit card number on the bottom of the form. From the security office, spectators proceed up a narrow stairway to the visitors’ gallery, or as it is formally called, the Strangers’ Gallery, which overlooks the small, oak-paneled House of Commons chamber with its green-leather upholstered benches.

The chamber used by today’s House of Commons was built after World War II. The original chamber was destroyed by German bombers in 1941. With typical English respect for tradition, the chamber was rebuilt according to the plan of a century earlier, with government and opposition party benches facing each other across an isle exactly two drawn sword-lengths apart, flanked at one end by elevated visitors’ galleries and at the other by the Speaker’s chair and press galleries. The presiding officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, who sits on the wooden throne.

There are only seats for 437 of the 650 members, but since much of the work of the House takes place in committees that meet in committee rooms, the chamber often isn’t as crowded as one would think. However, on important occasions when the full House is in session, the drama is enhanced, as Winston Churchill said, “by a sense of crowd and urgency” as MPs pack behind the Speaker’s chair and stand in aisles.

Once seated in the chamber, a spectator quickly realizes that the proceedings can get quite complex. After all, rules and traditions for the House of Commons run to 1,288 pages in their most recent edition. But most procedures are eventually understandable to Americans. During debates, television monitors on either side of the visitors’ gallery show the topic under discussion, the name of the person speaking and the length of time they have spoken.

For a greater understanding of what’s taking place on the floor, one can consult the day’s Order Paper, a listing of business before the House and its committees that is usually available in the security area. Beyond that, most of the symbolic action and a few key rules of the House are explained in a playbill-style booklet given to visitors as they enter the chamber. What isn’t necessarily explained is the MPs’ rowdy behavior.

To find out more about the shouting, cackling and tart rejoinders that make for great theater but disconcerting politics, I spoke with Kevin McNamara, a longtime Labor Party MP and knowledgeable observer of the House. McNamara, a silver-gray-haired man in his 60s, dressed in a blue pin-stripe suit, ushered me into the cramped office that he shares with his sole research assistant.

“MPs’ behavior can be partially attributed to the face-to-face seating arrangement, where government benches face opposition benches, giving the effect of a football game with fans rooting for their side,” he explained. “Another factor is the sharp divisions in British life, where more is at stake in governmental decisions than in a more consensual society.” Currently, the governing Conservative Party outnumbers Labor Party members by 153 seats.

McNamara went on to say that the lower House’s adversarial seating arrangement dates from the period 1558 to 1834, when it met in St. Stephen’s Chapel, site of today’s St. Stephen’s Hall. Then, MPs sat facing each other in choir stalls, with the speaker at the altar.

Despite its medieval look, the Palace of Westminster is actually little more than a century old, and was designed in Gothic style by architect Charles Barry to replace an earlier palace on the site that was destroyed by a fire in 1834. The building was erected in stages between 1840 and 1870, skillfully incorporating Westminster Hall into the Gothic-style masterpiece you see today. The building sprawls over eight acres, incorporates 11 open courtyards, contains 1,100 rooms and includes restaurants, libraries, committee rooms, apartments and offices, all connected by two miles of corridors and 100 staircases.

While a visit to the House of Commons is a political education as well as dramatic theater, a visit to the House of Lords is like time-travel to another era. As Walter Bagehot, a 19th-Century British essayist and editor of the Economist magazine tartly observed, “The cure for admiring the House of Lords was to go and look at it.”

The House of Lords meets in an ornate chamber ringed with statues and punctuated by light streaming through stained-glass windows. There, visitors will see a sprinkling of lords sprawled over benches, heads cocked back, and in every other variety of posture--from militarily erect to supinely comfortable. The pace is leisurely, the debate genteel and the forms of address archaic, reflecting Britain’s uncompleted social revolution. Visitor interest here isn’t so much on the political process, but rather on the ornate chamber, which alone is worth the visit.

The line at St. Stephen’s Gate for the House of Lords is to the right of the line for the House of Commons and is always a shorter wait. To visit both chambers in a single trip, you must leave the House you are visiting and rejoin the line outside St. Stephen’s Gate.

GUIDEBOOK: British Parliament

Getting there: The Palace of Westminster is in central London, on the banks of the River Thames, and easily reached.

By underground: Go to Westminster Station, exit the station to the right, then cross over the road at the first light and turn right. St. Stephen’s Gate is the second entrance on the left, about 200 yards from the traffic light.

By river: Boats to Westminster Pier leave regularly from Tower Pier at the foot of the Tower of London. Excellent views of the Palace of Westminster from the river.

By BritRail: Victoria Station is the nearest stop, then take the underground.

By bus: Routes 3, 11, 12, 24, 29, 53, 77A, 88 and 159 all converge from various parts of the city and stop in the general vicinity of the Palace of Westminster, on Parliament Square.

When to go: The House of Commons sits in annual session for about 175 days, starting this year in mid-October. The House of Lords meets about 25 days less than Commons. There are a number of recesses, so call first: 071-219-4273. No charge to visit either house. One way to avoid lines is to tell the police officer on duty that you want to attend a committee meeting, all open to the public. A list of meetings is posted on the wall to the left side of the visitors’ entrance. This, however, will not get you into general house sessions.

For more information: “The British Parliament” is a good free booklet available from British Information Services, Ninth Floor, 845 3rd Ave., New York 10022. “Common Sense: A C-Span Viewer’s Guide to British House of Commons” is a 32-page booklet prepared by the C-Span staff, available for $3 from C-Span, Suite 650, 400 N. Capitol Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.