Please read and enjoy our article and watch your FREE LONDON MUSIC VIDEO at the end "It's memory of legend, the leaders of the land The edict of change we strive to understand"
("Until Our Race is Won" - J. Horden)
They certainly know how to look after themselves, Britain's politicians !
The humbly-named Houses of Parliament, their main place of work, is something of a misnomer.
| Its real name is the Palace of Westminster .
This probably sounds a bit grand for the workplace of its inhabitants who, as rumour has it, are 'servants' of the public; and whose salaries, expenses and generous pensions come from the pockets of the ordinary man and woman in the street. More of our politicians in a while !
The Houses of Parliament , or if you prefer, the Palace of Westminster lies on the north bank of the River Thames in London and boasts several ornate towers, the tallest being the 323 ft Victoria Tower at the south-western end, atop which flies the Union Flag, more usually known as the Union Jack. It is at the base of this tower that the Queen enters for the State Opening of Parliament or for any other official ceremony. | | View from the south bank | Towards the middle of the Houses of Parliament is the 300 ft octagonal Central Tower , complete with its spire.
At the north-eastern end of the Palace, by Westminster Bridge , is the most famous of the towers, the 316 ft Clock Tower , commonly known as Big Ben after its main bell. The 150 year old Big Ben contains the world's largest four-faced, chiming clock , whose 15 minute gongs unfailingly remind us of the constant passing of time.
So it's within these humble 'houses', and in particular the House of Commons , that our 646 elected representatives, Britain's Members of Parliament (MP's), meet to plan and decide our fate.
The next-door neighbours in the Houses of Parliament are the 748 unelected, but appointed, members of the House of Lords .
In being appointed to the upper house , a member is presented with a title such as Lord or Baroness, thus suitably differentiating them from mere ordinary mortals, in the same way they were 700 years ago. Membership of the House of Lords was once the birthright of hereditary peers . Now, the upper house consists almost entirely of 'appointed' members . This is a modern variation of 'the great and the good' and, like their predecessors, they exist to debate and assist with affairs of state.
Fortunately for all of us, the House of Lords today appears to be a benign and impartial influence on British politics but the members, unlike Members of Parliament , are nevertheless unelected.
Many members of the House of Lords are, of course, appointed for their achievements, good works and services to the United Kingdom , its institutions and charities.
Others, however, have less convicing credentials. They comprise political appointees, government cronies, party donors and token representatives of Britain's diverse society. | | Big Ben's Clock |
|  | | Palace of Westminster | In spite of its incongruous nature, the House of Lords has 92 more members than the 646 seat House of Commons . Today's Parliament of the United Kingdom largely descends, in practice, from the Parliament of England , an institution some 700 years old. In 1706 a new Parliament of Great Britain was created to replace the separate Parliaments of England and Scotland . | 
| Statue of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England | | Who pays the Piper? | Although it doesn't always seem to be the case, typified by their "do as we say, and not as we do" approach, most of the members of both houses are there for the right reasons, to serve the public and, in the case of MP's , their constituents.
These 'public servants' will hopefully remember who put them there, why they aspired to be a Member of Parliament in the first place and, most importantly, 'who pays the piper' !
After all, MP's will all have to face their electors again in five years or less.
Hopefully at that time, any MP who has become influenced by their new-found power administered from a river-side palace;
and who has put their own interests ahead of the public, will be consigned to the job-centres by an increasingly demanding electorate.
It's really, after all, only possible to fool some of the people some of the time! |
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