The world is burning, from Tehran to Kyiv to Gaza. The US administration of Donald Trump is tearing apart the post-war order. The climate crisis continues to bubble up behind everything else.
And what is the hot topic commanding the attention of the UK’s upper house of parliament? Their Lordships’ right to have access to the House of Commons terrace, of course!
The House of Lords last week devoted not inconsiderable debating time to the fact that their members are not presently allowed on to the terrace, unlike their elected equivalents on the green benches down the corridor. And they are not happy.
“We are now being told that peers cannot have access to the House of Commons terrace, and that changes have been made to our ability to get tickets for guests for Prime Minister’s Questions, which we have had for years and years,” moaned Tory Michael Forsyth, John Major’s Scotland secretary back in the day.
And the issue was non-partisan. Tessa Blackstone, a Labour peer since 1987, told the House the heartbreaking story of how “about a year ago I had one of my grandsons here for lunch in the Commons canteen, and I wanted to take him on to the terrace but was told I was not allowed to. I found that deeply shocking. The terrace that we have at this end is very small compared to the one at the other end”.
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Tory Anne McIntosh, a little-remembered former MP, tried to take the Trump-style route of brokering a quid pro quo deal with the Commons. “One of the greatest privileges of the House, apart from the chamber and library, is access to the terrace,” she said, apparently forgetting the privilege of being able to formulate the laws of the United Kingdom until the day she dies.
“Our terrace is infinitely smaller than the terrace next door, which I enjoyed as a member of the other place. It strikes me that many of the places are taken on the terrace by members of the other place and their guests, leaving not enough places for members of this House. I think it should be reciprocal. I am quite happy to allow members of the other place to use our terrace on the basis that we are able to use theirs.”
It was left to the leader of the Lords, Labour’s Angela Smith, to sum things up.
Admitting that she shared her colleague’s frustrations, she complained that “even those of us who are former MPs are not now able to access the House of Commons terrace, or, for those who might like a pint in the evening, the Strangers Bar or other facilities”.
She added: “Yet I find that the River Restaurant at the Lords end of the building is often full of members of the House of Commons and staff from the House of Commons. We welcome them; it proves we have better food at this end of the building. There is no calorie content on the Lords menus, whereas there is on Commons menus, so that might be part of the attraction.”
One of the most common arguments defenders of the House of Lords make for its continuing existence is the higher standard of debate compared to their MP colleagues. Who could doubt them after this?
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