The British Parliament agreed to move to a new format while social distancing rules continue. Under the new system, only a handful of lawmakers attending in person and another 120 joining virtually
LONDON - Britain’s House of Commons, where lawmakers notoriously jeer at rivals seated two sword-lengths away, is about to find out whether it can make ministers sweat over Zoom.
In a system that has prized in-person debate for centuries as the crucible of democracy, lawmakers and scholars are questioning whether a video conference parliament will produce the heat needed to hold the government to account. “It will feel much more difficult to hold the government’s feet to the fire,” opposition Labour Party lawmaker Chris Bryant told Reuters. “A fire that is remote, is not much of a fire.”The first notable hybrid session will be Prime Minister’s Questions at midday on Wednesday - usually the centrepoint of the political week, at which lawmakers cram into every corner of the room to cheer, or jeer, the leader. With Johnson recovering from coronavirus, his deputy Dominic Raab will stand in.
Precedents will be followed to guarantee a variety of lawmakers are chosen in advance to participate in debates. The ceremonial mace, a silver gilt ornamental club without which the house cannot meet or pass laws, will be present. He lamented that “the occasional well-crafted taunt” would no longer “wing its way across the benches to pierce a political opponent’s armour,” and that some “fine perorations” could well be interrupted by a faulty internet connection. But, he said, “we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
FILE PHOTO: The statue of Britain's former Prime Minister Winston Churchill is silhouetted in front of the Houses of Parliament in London January 24, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor
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