Earlier this month, a number of Sixth Form students secured themselves tickets to attend Prime Minister’s Question Time, as well as being given a tour of the House of Commons
Many thanks to Tom for his report below:
We secured our tickets through an email I wrote to the Right Hon. John Bercow following on from his visit to Bloxham back in March. He very kindly offered us three tickets to watch Prime Minister’s Questions on 17th June – tickets are highly sought after and would usually need to be reserved weeks in advance so we were very lucky. Before the House sat for the day we were given a tour, firstly going through the House of Commons Chamber and lobbies before following the route taken by the Queen – from the Royal Robing Room at one of the Palace, through the Royal Gallery and into the House of Lords Chamber. This tour taught us a lot about the history of the Palace, as well as the traditions and customs.
We then collected our tickets and congregated in the central lobby for the Speaker’s Procession before heading up to the galleries. We were very surprised to discover that we were in fact sitting in the Speaker’s private gallery, which is in front of the glass screen and above the Government benches. The atmosphere was very exciting and it felt very alive – at times it was so noisy that you had to put your ear close to the speakers to hear the questions being asked. In all, it was a great experience.
After PMQs we were given a tour of the Speaker’s House by a member of his office. It was very interesting and we even got a look at an entire corridor dedicated to gifts he and his predecessors have been given by foreign dignitaries as state gifts, including a table full of silver candlesticks worth half a million per set. The rooms were decorated with the Coat of Arms and portraits of previous Speakers, as well as Mr Bercow’s own, which he had commissioned upon taking office. For me it was interesting to see some faces up on the walls whom I recognise as being members of the House of Lords, such as Baroness Boothroyd.
One of the highlights of our day was just walking past some of the famous MPs you see in the media, such as Alex Salmond, Theresa May, Dennis Skinner. As Abbie said, ‘it’s like celeb spotting’.
Finally, we had the opportunity to spend half an hour with our brilliant new MP, Victoria Prentice, who gave up some of her afternoon to speak with us on the terrace to tell us what it is like being a new MP and how it all works. She led us to believe that it is a bit like your first day at a new school, nobody really knows what’s going on, where they’re supposed to be or even how they can get there!