Some Traditions and Customs of the House of Commons

 

There are number of traditions and customs employed in the House of Commons. Some of these are ceremonies or aspects of official dress, etc. They are described in Sir Peter Thorne's Ceremonial and the Mace in the House of Commons (HMSO, 1980).

 

Prayers. Each sitting of the House of Commons begins with prayers. Members stand for prayers, facing the wall behind them. This practice has sometimes been attributes to the difficulty Members would once have faced of kneeling to pray whilst wearing a sword. The Speaker's Chaplain, who is usually the incumbent of St Margaret's Westminster, the House of Commons church, reads the prayers, though in his or her absence another member of the clergy of the Church of England may deputize. A woman minister has occasionally deputized. On rare occasions, in the absence of clergy, the Speaker has read the prayers.

 

The form of the main prayer is as follows:

"Lord, the God of righteousness and truth, grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interest and prejudices, keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind; so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed. Amen."

Since 1997, an additional prayer has been used to day after the death of a Member has been reported to the House. Although information on the origin of daily prayers is sketchy, it is believed that the practice of having such prayers started about 1558, and was a settled practice by 1567. The use of fixed forms of prayer and the appointment of a clergyman to read them appear to have been developments of the 1580's or later. The present form of prayers probably dates from the Restoration.

 

The Form and Style of Debate. By convention, Ministers sit on the front bench on he right hand of the Speaker; the Chief Whip usually sits in this row immediately next to the gangway. Elder statesman and former Prime Ministers have often sat on the first front bench seat beyond the gangway. Parliamentary Private Secretaries usually sit in the row behind their minister. Official Opposition spokesmen use the front bench to the Speaker's left. Minority parties sit on the benches (often the front two).

 

Unparliamentary Language. Language and expressions used in the Chamber must conform to a number of rules. Erskine May states "good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language." Objection has been taken both to individual words and to sentences and constructions – in the case of the former, to insulting, coarse, or abusive language (particularly as applied to other Members); and of the latter, to charges of lying or being drunk, and misrepresentation of the words of another. Among the words to which Speakers have objected over the years have been "blackguard, coward, hooligan, and traitor." The context in which a word is used is, of course, very important.

 

The Speaker will direct a Member who has used an unparliamentary word or phrase to withdraw it. Members sometimes use considerable ingenuity to circumvent these rules (as when, for instance, Winston Churchill substituted the phrase "terminological inexactitude" for "lie") but they must be careful to obey the Speaker's directions, as a Member who refuses to retract an offending expression may be named or required to withdraw from the Chamber.

 

Naming of a Member. If a Member has disregarded the authority of the Chair, or has persistently and willfully obstructed the House by abusing its rules, he or she (after generally being given every opportunity to set matters to rights) may be named. That is, the Speaker says "I name Mr George White" or whoever. In such instances, the Leader of the House, the Government Chief Whip, or the senior Minister present, moves "that Mr George White be suspended from the service of the House." A division may follow: if the motion is agreed to, the Member is directed to withdraw, and suspension (for five sitting days for a first offence) follows. A second offence in the same session will lead to suspension for 20 sitting days, and a third, to suspension for a period the House has to decide. Any Member so named loses their parliamentary salary for the period of suspension. Should a Member refuse to withdraw, and then resist removal, suspension for the remainder of the Session ensues.

 

Sitting in Private. The House nowadays allows members of the public (everyone who is not a Member or Officer of the House is a "Stranger") to be present at its debates, though not at prayers. This, however, was historically not always the case; and the right to debate a matter in private is maintained. Should it be desired to conduct a debate in private, a Member moves "That this House sit in private," the Speaker or whoever is in the Chair, must then put the motion "That this House sit in private" without debate. The House has not gone into private session since the Second World War. However, if the House did go into private session, sound or television record of that session would be made.

Previously, a Member could achieve "sitting in private" by declaring "I spy Strangers." But as Members tended to use this as a device of expressing political indignation on a subject, or to delay proceedings, the Modernization Select Committee recommended its abolition. In ancient times, a Member "spying strangers" meant that they had to withdraw automatically – there was no division. On one famous occasion in the 1880s, Mr Biggar, an Irish Nationalist Member, caused the Prince of Wales to be removed by use of this device.

 

Activations which are out of order during debate. Briefcases are not allowed in the Chamber, and the reading of newspapers, magazines, letters or other material (except when connected with the issue under discussion) is not permitted. Members must not pass between the Chair and the Member who is speaking. The Speaker has deprecated the noise of distracting electronic pagers, telephones and other electronic devices in the Chamber, although they are acceptable provided they are silent.

Eating and drinking are not permitted, in contrast to what must have happened in previous centuries, when visitors observed Members sucking oranges and cracking nuts.

 

The Police. The police shout "Who goes home?" when the House rises. This is often explained as an invitation to Members to join together in bands to cross what in the past were the dangerous unlit fields between Westminster and the City, or to hire boats homeward on the Thames as a party in order to save the individual fares.

Another call is made during the Speaker's procession, when the inspector on duty in the Central Lobby shouts "Hats off, Strangers." There are of course few wearing hats; but the police remove their helmets. This is another relic of the elaborate hat wearing and doffing etiquette of former centuries.

The Police, though on duty in and about the Palace, do not enter the Chamber when the House is sitting. If the House sits beyond midnight, they remove their helmets.

 

Relations with other Members. By convention, a Member intending to make an accusation against or reflection on another must notify the other Member in advance. A Member who intends to speak in another's constituency will generally inform the other Member in advance. This is regarded as essential between Members of the same party, but is not always observed to the same extent where political opponents are concerned. Ministers always inform the constituency Member of such a speaking engagement. Members will in general take up constituency cases only from their own constituents. If they receive a letter from a non-constituent they will forward it to the constituency MP concerned.

 

Endorsements on Bills – the Use of Norman French. There are some of the conventions and practices governing the sending of bills between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The processes of legislation require that the same text of every Bill be approved by both Houses. The transmission of bills between the Houses always involves a formal procedure.

If the House of Lords has passed one or more Bills, they send a message to the Commons by one of their senior Clerks. Messages have taken the same form for more than 200 years: "The Lords have passed a Bill, entitled… to which they desire the concurrence of this House." However, endorsements on the Bills themselves are made in Norman French ( in this case "soit baille aux communies") a relic of the very early days of Parliament. On a Commons Bill to which the Lords have agreed, is endorsed "A ceste Bille les Seigneurs sont assentus," if amended "avecue des amendements" is added after "Bille."

If a Commons Bill has been amended by the Lords, and the Commons subsequently disagree with the Lords Amendments, Reasons for the disagreement are stated in the message to the Lords. The Bill is endorsed "Ceste Bille est remise aux Siegneurs avecque des raisons." These Reasons are drawn up by a Reasons Committee that is nominated and directed to withdraw forthwith after the votes on the merits of the amendments have been taken. The Reasons – in English – are usually concise and extremely terse. Before the mid-19^th century, the Houses held a conference to present or discuss these reasons.

Bills sent by the Commons to the Lords that are Money Bills in the meaning of the Parliament Act 1911 are endorsed (in English) by the Speaker. Bills sent for the Royal Assent under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 without the agreement of the Lords are endorsed in English, and the enacting formula scored through and altered by the Commons.

A Bill, passed by one House and sent to the other, should not be withdrawn by the Member in Charge in the second House, out of courtesy to the first. However, should the Commons reject or decide not to proceed with a Lords Bill, the Commons does not inform the Lords of this fact nor do the Lords in the case of a Commons Bill.

The formulae for Royal Assent are also given in Norman French at the Prorogation ceremony. "La Reyne le veult" is the formula for public (and since 1850, also for most private) bills, and "Soit fait comme il est desire" for private bills due to become personal Acts.

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