Hi, everyone. And welcome back to Britain Under the Microscope. 歡迎回來【閑話英倫】.

Hi,安瀾.

Hi, everyone.

By the way, how long do these sessions last and how frequent not just Prime Minister’s question time, but just in general they do debate every day.

Yeah. They can last for hours, they can go into the night. And if it's a particularly big issue, it's not unheard of for them to go through the night debating.

And you're not allowed to eat and drink, that doesn't sound like a very easy job. Just from the work hours.

It kind of stops them from speaking too much because eventually they all get hungry.

And then what the whole debate is adjourned or is just finished.

It can be finished or it can be adjourned. So how they vote is they don't take hands. They vote literally with their feet. So when they're ready for a vote, they will go into one room for yes, and one room for no, then they'll count the people in the room.

Is it because you guys have never heard of the voting machine the digital voting button?

These are rules that came into effect three hundred four hundred years ago and they work.

So why change them?

I think this is what's really interesting because you kept a lot of the rituals.

Yeah.

It's so highly ritualistic.

Oh god, yes. For example, MPs aren't allowed to wear hats or swords in the House.

Hats I understand, that's a respect thing.

Yeah.

Swords like who? Oh, okay, again this was ages and ages ago.

Well, absolutely.

So there is actually still a place outside where MPs can leave their swords. But now they use them for umbrellas.

I suppose you can poke someone with the umbrella.

Well. You notice that everyone is facing each other. So you got one side is the government, one side is the opposition, and the space between the two, you can see there's a line by the feet of the MPs on the front bench. No one can cross that line and the distance between those two lines is how long a sword is.

So it's like you can't even reach it if you have a sword.

If you have a sword, so you can't stand up and stab your opponent.

You know what I think. They probably learned it the hard way. It probably led to sword fights before.

Yeah, it did.

And people did get killed for a speaking.

I'm sure they did.

That so now it's just leave your swords in the sword room.

Yeah.

It's like disarm before you go into the room for the debate, it needs to be a verbal debate. They kept them apart because emotions are high, they don't want them to fight. I hope they have security though.

Of course they do. But it's also illegal to wear armor in the House of the Parliament as well.

Well. If you get rid of the swords, you, I guess you can get rid of the armor.

Yeah. And the MPs aren't allowed to have their hands in their pocket.

It’s show that they don't have weapon, concealed weapon.

I think so. I did actually try to look up why that's the case and I think that's probably the most likely reason why.

Yeah, I don't want to think about other reasons.

No.

Yeah. But let's dial back a little bit.

Earlier on, you said when they want to put something to a vote, so they debate there for you, let's just say there's a new policy, a new law being proposed and then finally after they debated all the details, and they want to let everyone put in a vote, instead of just pressing a button, they will literally vote by going into the “YES room” or the “NO room”.

Yeah.

And is that why in English they say vote with their feet?

Yeah.

用腳投票是這個意思, 就是我進一個YES的房間, 進一個NO的房間.

But now it just means you show you don't like something by...

Action.

By action by going away.

So nowadays when you say vote by one's feet is you literally you don't say I don't like it or I don't support it, you just leave.

Exactly. Vote with your feet.

Vote with your feet.

And the other thing is I keep hearing when I was watching “Yes Minister”, I keep hearing things like the Backbenchers.

Yes.

What does that mean? Does that literally mean people MPs who are sitting at the back?

Yes, so those are the MPs who aren't very important.

They're just there for the ride.

They're just there because they've been voted in, but they're not Ministers. They don't hold any particular posts in the government. But the Backbenchers are essentially the most of the MPs. They're the majority of the MPs.

They don't get to speak. They only get to say hear hear or “ er...r”.

Or they can speak, but it is done by seniority. So for example, if someone who is more important than them wants to speak, they take precedence.

But they can have the voting right?

They do.

Because they can vote with their feet.

But does it actually happen when they don't vote on the side of their party?

That is very rare, but it does happen. So parties have what they call Whips.

就這個叫黨鞭, Whips are what do they actually do?

Whips represent the party and they're there to get the MPs to vote for their party.

Literally wielding a whip go like...

Literally not wielding a whip. They don't gonna like beat up the MPs.

Figuratively.

But the thing is if you don't vote for your party, then that causes major issues. But sometimes if something is really controversial, the PM, the Prime Minister doesn't have popular support, then even the whips can't get people to vote for their party.

So basically, let me recap. So on one side you have執政黨, you have the one in power, on the other side you have said反對黨the opposition.

And sometimes it's the case where an MP can cross the floor. So that means if they don't agree with their party anymore, they can walk across.

To the other side.

To the other side. Yeah.

Will they then be sort of what's the word I'm looking for. Does that mean that you've given up on your party and then they will kick you out like they revoke your membership or something.

Pretty much.

But what happens is that in many cases, the seat that MP has becomes the other parties.

Oh, I see, so it does change. Okay. It's very complex, but it's very interesting and highly ritualistic.

Yeah.

I have one more question. What about your monarch? So the King or the Queen? Now I know they're a figurehead, but in this do they ever come to the Parliament?

They do and you say that they’re figurehead, actually the King or Queen is technically the government, their State.

So is their parliament?

It's their parliament, the House of the Parliament is a Royal Palace.

Mhm.

Even though the King or Queen doesn't actually live there and they only go there once a year.

Yep.

They go there for either the Queen's speech or The King's Speech.

They don't have King’s or queen's question time, do they?

No, this is what we call the State Opening of Parliament.

So during the summer months a Parliament doesn't sit. There's no parliament in July or August.

Is it because these MPs went on vacation?

They go on holiday and also they go back to their constituencies.

哦，就是回到他們的選區去了.

Yeah, so when Parliament opens again, the King comes along and he reads out a speech detailing what the government is going to do over the next year.

Okay.

This is very ritualistic, because traditionally the King or the Monarch and Parliament have had a very bad relationship. We had a Civil War in the 17th century. What happens is the King goes to the House of Lords, and they call someone, someone called Black Rod. Black Rod is a messenger. He goes to the House of Commons, the door is open to the House of Commons, and then they slam it in his face.

In the King's face?

No, in messenger’s face.

Oh, it is messenger’s face. Well, the messenger represents the King.

So he has to knock on the door and this is to show the independence of Parliament, basically saying “okay, if you want us to come, you have to knock, you can't just walk in”.

Walk in. Oh, wow, even till now.

Even till now.

Okay. That's very interesting. 國王派來的信使要敲門, 敲門的時候先把門摔你臉上, 然后讓你再敲門進來.

Yeah. The last time King went into the House of Commons that caused the English Civil War.

Okay.

But it's not all bad for the monarch, to guarantee his safety an MP is kidnapped.

Kidnapped?

Kidnapped, yeah.

So they will abduct an MP?

So an MP is held hostage at Buckingham Palace.

So it's like exchanging hostage. You send the monarch here to the House of Parliament you can take one of our MP and then when the King safely returns, you will return our hostage as well.

That is exactly what happens.

Why not the prime minister?

The prime minister has to sit and listen to the speech.

So it's just one of those Backbenchers.

So the whole idea is if Parliament kills the King, then they kill the hostage.

How, do they still do that?

Every year.

Who's the one chosen to be held hostage in Buckingham Palace? Because now it's so highly ritualistic. They probably want to do that.

They do. It's actually supposed to be quite nice. The MP arrives at Buckingham Palace. They give them a gin and tonic, and sometimes they give them a tour of the Palace. Yeah, actually quite a nice day out.

Yeah, exactly, as opposed to all your colleagues sitting there in the House of Parliament listening to a long old speech.

Yeah.

So I remember reading an interview with one of the MPs that did it and he said it's really nice. I sat down with the Palace staff. They made me a gin and tonic. I watched the TV for a bit and then I kind of went for a walk around the Palace.

I bet now it's a well sought after position, could be abducted.

Exactly. It's quite nice.

“Abducted or kidnapped” by King's staff or the Palace.

Yeah. It's a nice day out for them.

Okay. So we are going to probably wrap up here. We have covered some of the very interesting albeit slightly eccentric habits and rituals having carried out for hundreds of years in the parliament in the UK.

Yes.

Okay.

Let us know what you think in our comment section and also if you have any other ideas for episodes, don't forget send them in the comment section.

Okay, and we will see you next time.

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