'CITIZENSHIP COUNTS'

16 JANUARY 2002

St. Wilfrid's School have arranged for 180 13 and 14 year olds to study politics and government as part of their Citizenship curriculum. When they invited me to talk to them about my role as an MP, two questions stumped me. First, why are the benches in the House of Commons green? I still haven't found out the answer to that. And second, is my job really a matter of attending lots of meetings? Parliament is now back from its winter break so I can try and work out the answer.

Parliament is certainly a bizarre place. The first thing you notice is that in the Members' cloakroom every coat hanger has a pink ribbon attached. A display of support for Breast Cancer Awareness Week, perhaps? No - the ribbons are there for Members to hang their swords! The great Labour politician Aneurin Bevan said that entering the House of Commons felt like entering a church "dedicated to the most reactionary of religions, namely ancestor worship". Certainly the architecture is baroque, and the proceedings often defended on the grounds that things have always been done that way.

I have been caught out a couple of time and been to feel like a real Charlie. I once approached the Speaker's chair to ask whether I would be called to speak in a debate. Fair enough question I thought. Not according to the Deputy Speaker. "Never again approach my chair by walking forward in that way" he said! I still don't know what he meant.

The second bit of learning came when I raced back to vote from a meeting outside the House of Commons. I ran across Parliament Square, up into Members' Lobby, only to find the doors locked. Only then was I told that the pager instruction "vote now" comes two minutes after the vote is called, leaving 6 minutes not 8 to get to the vote.

There are two things people say to me about the House of Commons. First, that despite all the shouting and screaming, Prime Minister's Question Time does put the Government on the spot. It is compelling viewing for Americans because in comparison their Senate and House of Representatives is so colourless. Second, the vast bulk of viewers see far too little passion if they switch on their TV to see the Commons outside Prime Minister's Questions. They also complain that there are not enough people there. What are you all doing they ask?

The truth is that Parliament involves much more than debates in the Commons. I am currently sitting on the Education Bill Standing Committee, spending about 50 hours going through the Bill that is designed to help raise standards in our secondary schools. The weakness of the Conservatives means that the debates lack cohesion, but scrutiny is an important part of the process of improving legislation.

My first six months have explained why people kept coming up to me and saying the House of Commons was like a boarding school, not that I ever attended one. There are lots of little gangs, groups of prefects, and silly hours. But important business gets done. Our job is to modernise the way the Commons works so that it can do its job better. That is something vital to connecting what we do to the 180 rather bemused teenagers at St Wilfrid's, and the many millions of other people who want to see Parliament address their concerns in a way that is comprehensible and effective.