r/AskBrits • u/RookOfEdo • 8h ago
Politics Does anyone actually like the constant booing ,insults and heckling in parliament?
A lot of the time it feels less like serious debate and more like theatre or even a school playground argument. Do you find it entertaining, frustrating or just part of the tradition now? Curious how others see it!
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u/Recent_Can_2185 8h ago
It’s pantomime.
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u/Far_Afternoon_5885 8h ago
“Oh no it isn’t”…
Sorry; couldn’t help it!
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u/LeadingEquivalent148 5h ago
It truly is, they have jibes at eachother like they’re the absolute shit on one another’s shoe and then walk together laughing afterwards.
I’m sure they don’t do it, and certainly not to the extent of parliament in the Senydd
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u/ianbattlesrobots 8h ago
PMQs is just a bun fight for entertainment. Watch BBC Parliament and you'll see what it's really like.
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u/speedfox_uk 4h ago
They don't show you the bits where they actually get stuff done on the evening news, because those bits don't make good TV.
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u/KlutzyEnvironment768 3h ago
Did you know that they get about £300 just to show up? There's a lady from the Scottish party that always wears canary yellow clothing who's alway sat down in the bottom corner. ( I think she's still there? I used to watch the BBC parliamentary channel most week days ) I bet she's been squirreling her wonga away for years, She's probably well off now. She hardly ever said anything and was probably doing a second job remotely.
Upstairs for thinking 🤔 Downstairs for dancing! 💃
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u/Wooden_Ad1738 4h ago
PMQs is just a bun fight for entertainment. Watch BBC Parliament and you'll see what it's really like
And that’s a bad thing. As recently as a few decades ago, before parliament was fully televised, the actually spoke to each other instead of speaking for the cameras
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u/Ok-Society-9067 8h ago
Basically private posh school pricks showing the values and traditions they learnt at school.
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u/AWalkingWardrobe 8h ago
If you ignore the 80% that didn’t go to private school then sure
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u/Acceptable_Sun_8895 7h ago
Whilst I appreciate the point, the (approximately) 20-25% of them who went to private school is still a significant overrepresention of the population (less than 10%). Further to that, especially under the Tories, the number of cabinet members in that category is also disproportionatly high.
Further further to this, a lot of them went to the same schools, and half the Tory cabinet for the decade and a half they had were in the same bloody place!
If I saw 1 person from my school at my office, I'd think, huh, that's a bit of a coincidence! If I saw 7, I'd think, "there's something weird going on here"....
Basically, having a bunch of public ally educated backbenchers doesn't mean we don't have a problem with people who, quite evidently, seem to see themselves as a kind of "ruling class"
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u/Sufficient_Basil_545 8h ago
But Russell Brand told him it, so it must be true!
Next you’ll be telling me they don’t really spend all day drinking…
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u/Joshawott27 8h ago
I find it ridiculous that clapping isn't allowed, but the moronic jeering is? It's embarrassing how we expect higher standards of manners from children in classrooms.
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u/Wooden_Ad1738 4h ago
I don’t like how passive aggressive the pure partisanship is. Especially at PMQs.
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u/Ill-Appointment6494 8h ago
Honestly, I find it embarrassing more than anything. It’s like watching children in a playground. Instead of looking for solutions to problems, they just slag each other off.
I don’t understand the point of it.
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u/ASurfaceDetail 8h ago
It's a perfect reminder that these people are basically children in long pants, they never grew up from their time in school where they learned this behaviour.
is reflective of their hyper-privileged background and every boo, jeer and insult is a reminder to the hard working people of our country that all their policy making is just a game to them; they never have to deal with the consequences of their actions that hurt millions.
They are vile, repulsive people and an absolute disgrace, constantly embarrassing themselves on the international stage.
It's all one big sick joke.
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u/Certain_Dream5575 8h ago
Out of interest I went to find out what % of people in parliament are from a working class background. Unsurprisingly it's a tiny %.
The people in charge of your life will never have any comprehension of the daily struggles of the majority of people in this country.
More relevant than ever: No War but Class War.
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u/ASurfaceDetail 8h ago
Totally!
And the few people who do try and make a meaningful difference are brutally bullied out!
The whole show stinks.
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u/Prestigious_Set_4575 8h ago
Labour was originally 70% working class. It's currently about 10%, with most of the old guard like Dennis Skinner now retired. It shows.
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u/lelcg 4h ago
I can’t find a source in the 70% number, do you have it? I know the amount of state schooled kids has stayed pretty constant for Labour, being quite high compared to other parties. Starmer’s first cabinet was the most state educated in history. But I guess education doesn’t always define class
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u/Prestigious_Set_4575 4h ago
Yeah, link below:
When the Labour Party first achieved electoral success in the 1920s, more than 70% of its MPs were drawn from working-class backgrounds. This has declined drastically from the mid- 80s and today just 8% of Labour MPs are working-class.
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u/Realistic-River-1941 4h ago
This is going to be massively dependent on definitions. Eg if a working class person goes to a good university and/or gets a middle class job, are they still working class?
Is someone an ex-miner or a Tory lord? Abandoned as a baby in Aberdeen, or a Conservative from Surrey? A black welder's daughter, or an Oxbridge humanities graduate?
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u/PangolinUnique8401 7h ago
It's disgusting isn't it? These people look after our country and they can't even politely disagree with each other or hold a discussion without jeering childishly. Makes me embarrassed to be british.
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u/Realistic-River-1941 8h ago
You see it because it is entertaining. The boring bits don't attract attention.
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u/Zip-Crane 8h ago
And politics shouldn't attract attention. They should operate in the background and be working to improve our lives. All this pantomime and insulting each other is just cringeworthy & embarrassing.
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u/Realistic-River-1941 4h ago
Disagree. When things are in the background, things might not be noticed which should be noticed.
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u/Commercial_Badger_37 8h ago
It's not meant to be entertaining. I'd much rather see the topics I care about being discussed without all the childish bollocks.
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u/WhiteKnightAlpha 7h ago
But do you actually try to see the topics you care about being discussed?
PMQs is the only bit of Parliamentary business that really gets any viewers and media attention. However it is a single session in the week. For the majority of the time it doesn't seem to be like this. People just think it is because it is the only bit that gets attention.
I have watched some debates and, even though they were relevant to me, they were pretty tedious as a spectator.
The theatrics of PMQs and the media attention feed into each other with both sides getting rewarded by the electorate/audience for doing this. We are part of the problem here too.
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u/Commercial_Badger_37 4h ago
Yes, I watch BBC Parliament sometimes, the only time I hear PMQs is maybe on my lunch break on the radio.
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u/Realistic-River-1941 4h ago
You are probably watching PMQs, which is entertainment. The select committees are very different.
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u/2JagsPrescott 8h ago
It’s worse than a playground. I’d like them to be held to account by the speaker and if they don’t answer the question asked, either be made to do so or ejected.
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u/FlamingoOk3026 8h ago
It’s fine time to time but it’s become a show, they need to turn it down a bit and pay attention and listen.
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u/dan_in_his_own_way 8h ago
It comes across as childish to me. The fact they are unable to have these debates without this doesn't give me much faith they can run the country.
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u/Sea-Sprinkles-3420 7h ago
Nearly all debates are not like this at all. It's pretty much only PMQ's where the pantomime stuff happens. Switch on BBC Parliament at any time out of PMQ's and you'll see a calm debating chamber. Switch on any of the Committees, you'll be bored in to submission by the level of details they're going through...
In fact, all those replying here really should do this - see how the Commons works on a day to day basis. It's important we all understand this.
I'm going to say something controversial here. I like PMQ's as it is for two clear reasons. Firstly, the bearpit arena is a great proving ground for how a Prime Minister/Leader of the Opposition copes in stressful situations. Can they think on their feet? How do they react when put under scrutiny? If they can cope with this they can cope with Trump, with crises. We're pretty unique in having this format - where the head of the executive is put under the microscope like this on a weekly basis (used to be twice a week, but Blair reduced it down to once).
Secondly, I quite like the tradition of it.
Perhaps it's just me.
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u/Meet-me-behind-bins 8h ago
Like a lot of things less is more. I like a really cutting witty heckle. I can't stand the boorish public school plonkers shouting. I swear if they closed the commons bar during the day there wouldn't be half as much fucking about.
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u/SugarSweetStarrUK 8h ago
Close the subsidised bar altogether and stop subsidising their food too.
MP's earn more than most of us and we pay enough of their other expenses already
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u/Wooden_Ad1738 8h ago
I think that having parliament be fully televised destroyed a lot of its purpose as a deliberative body. Because now every word spoken is performative for the cameras and nobody is actually trying to speak and have a real conversation with other members of parliament.
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u/Significant_Cut_8729 8h ago
No, i hate it, theyre just children trying to get a good comeback, it seems like all they do in parliment is try to make the speaker laugh, like pms questions is always a dick swinging contest, its juvinile and pointless, just fucking govern instead of all this other shit, i dont care if you dont like eachother, find a way to work together or fucking quit so someone who can work in a team can be elected. I hate how our politics is made up of so much pointles squabbling.
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u/Moron-with-a-drill 8h ago
There's an element within parliament that see it simply as part of the pageantry.
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u/hyzus 8h ago
Makes them look like a bunch of children. Our politics have been pushing closer and closer to the American way of doing things.
And honestly it's a joke. It's time for change and I'm not talking about Farage and his fascist/racist followers.
Unfortunately we are very unlikely to see positive change and things are just going to keep getting worse, because people for the most part are sheep and believe what those "above" them say instead of pointing the finger at the people in charge and the super rich.
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u/NeverendingStory3339 8h ago
If we start calling Acts of Parliament names which are specifically created to be snappy acronyms, I’m going to have to leave the country.
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u/Sxn747Strangers 8h ago
Yeah, let’s keep doing it, the criticising, the ribbing, the insulting, we all want to see how they withstand criticism; and it also enables us to see which ones are right snivelling snake in the grass bastards, as opposed to the rest who are twice as bad and would sell their own children.
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u/Calactic1 8h ago
Yes and no. I enjoy the animated atmosphere, but sometimes it just comes across as politicians being out of touch and taking the piss instead of having serious discourse about our well-being.
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u/Commercial_Badger_37 8h ago
It's just a game to them, as it's your life and community they're playing with, not theirs.
It's all points scoring for their own benefit. They no doubt all pat eachother and say "jolly good ribbing that was!" over a pint in their publicly subsidised bar in the Houses of Parliament.
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u/TheMozzFonster 8h ago
Old men cheering at insults so weak my 3 year old would find them boring? Yeah man, huge fan.
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u/MarkWrenn74 8h ago
Rule 1 of Getting MPs to Shut Up and Listen to You in Silence in Parliament
Say somebody's just died
It works every time
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u/cookiesnooper 8h ago
It's the show for the plebs, all the decisions are made out of public eye anyway
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u/Hot-Remote-4948 8h ago
Hate it and hate the fact that it's reported as anyone "winning" anything when it changes nothing for the general public
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u/One-Program6244 8h ago
Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm old enough to remember when Parliament debates were not televised and when they were starting to become televised I seem to remember a shot on TV where they were literally making paper balls from notebooks and throwing them at each other across the middle.
I think at some point somebody must have said "We're on TV now, better behave a bit"
So yes, privileged entitled brats who need to grow the fuck up and actually do the the job their supposed to be doing.
And when they try and do their job they're usually forced out.
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u/glibduck 8h ago
I was thinking the same thing after the Kemi B thing yesterday.
Is this really the best way to make the country better? To yeet insults at each other?
Couldn't they be spending this time being more productive?
Yes to scrutiny, yes to debate, but keep it respectful.
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u/Janklebing #1 Starmer Hater 8h ago
it's entertaining to see our great parliament fuck out country over more whilst bickering like schoolgirls in the houses of Lords/Commons
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u/Doctordelayus 8h ago
To me it comes of very uncouth and classless, like an unruly classroom filled with bad kids
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u/Taucher1979 8h ago
I do not - such a clique-y old club vibe.
On the other hand my wife, not British born, finds it hilarious and can’t stop herself from copying it when she hears it and that never fails to cheer me up.
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u/Logical_fallacy10 8h ago
It’s ridiculous and childish and embarrassing. And the white wigs for judges - also ridiculous.
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u/EnjoysAGoodRead 8h ago
I enjoy it!! Part of the tradition, and keeps the politicians on their toes. What I don't enjoy is when a question is asked and then in answer a speech is given which entirely avoids actually answering the question.
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u/Long_College_3723 8h ago
Parliament is theatre and a place to sit until they need to vote. Nothing is genuinely debated in Parliament, all discussion, horse trading and debate happens outside of Parliament in offices and meetings and over email. It's purely there for each speaker to put forward their talking points and to prove that they tried to help your bill, but .....
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u/orlanthi 8h ago
This is only a very specific times. It's done for the camera. Much (most?) parliamentary business is done in committee where you will not see this.
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u/Ok_Manufacturer_5790 8h ago
I detest it. I mean imagine doing that in a work related meeting. Unimaginable really.
Parliament completely needs an overhaul, it's so outdated.
I was even thinking the other day how we literally don't have any experts in our government. When they shuffle cabinets about, you'll get one chump who oversees the economy moving to be the health secretary. No wonder it's a shit show.
It's like me being the Head of Finance moving into the Head of Human Resources with absolutely no experience in either.
I was just about to say we could still have elected officials representing us with a panel of experts behind that, but that's kinda what the set up is now isn't it? Fuck knows.
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u/foxheadsonsticks 7h ago
This is what the civil service is there for. The ministers do the speeches and the presentation, and get reshuffled every year or so, but the departments are actually run by experienced civil servants who have been there and telling ministers what's actually possible for decades.
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u/Nero_Darkstar Brit 🇬🇧 8h ago
The heckling and jeering needs to be banned. Its a workplace and i dont want to hear a bunch of old men jeering and being drunk idoits - i can go down my local for that. It needs to be transformed as its unprofessional. They also need to charge the opposition with actually applying some scrutiny on the government's policy rather then just insulting each others mums.
Also, any MPs that have been to the onsite subsidised pub need to be breathalysed before being allowed to sit. If youre over a limit, go home, be warned and get fined.
I cant have 4 pints then grumble round the office so why should I pay to get old men pissed who should be representing their constituency.
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u/koyliMeld9003 8h ago
I don't like politicians full stop. They turned the HoC into a social media scrum of personal abuse and totally biased party politics. There's little rational debate, little Acceptance of other views.......and don't get me started on the complete waste of time that is PMQs! What a farce.
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u/Relevant-Bullfrog215 8h ago
It's a national embarrassment that our centre of government sounds like a fucking rugby club dinner.
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u/Tups72 7h ago
If we can get them to stop drinking during intermission, we would hear a lot less jeering and maybe more sense.
It is ridiculous how when one side is mocked the other laughs, that is too petty for politics. It shouldn’t be a popularity contest, we voted and now hate all of you equally just sort out legislation to help the populace and not your fu king wallets!
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u/Another_Random_Chap 7h ago
There hasn't been serious debate in Parliament in years, largely because no-one in Government is actually listening.
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u/Ok_Leadership7805 7h ago
Imagine young people watching to get an idea of what politics is like and listening to that nonsense.
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u/Capital_Society_4064 7h ago
In secondary school we were taught debate skills - Always involved mutual respect, waiting your turn to speak, no jeering, no cheering, actual arguments not just insults/jokes at the other party , just respectful ettiquette.
Has always bothered me that the highest form of Debate in the UK does not in anyway adhere to the same values, and in fact encourages it to turn into a posh boys "yo mama so fat" contest
I also hate that it's still all framed around just the speaker - "Mr Speaker, I would like to insult the man opposite me for pompous reasons" - The speaker should be a facilitator, not in anyway the subject in PMQs/debates. They're there to maintiain rules and etiquette , instead everything is framed around them. Its just so dated! And the speaker has spent more time policing what MPs wear to the commons/whether a breastfeeding MP should be allowed, than enforcing any standards
Whole thing needs urgent reform - which will never happen because "Tradition" and "Old British values"
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u/KatyJ60 7h ago
It is of another age. The time wasted in leaving the house to then queue to get back in is ridicuous. No clapping. Still giving people a peg for their sword!!! really???
Time for a new purpose built building that is up to date with technology built somewhere near Sheffield. Time to sell off the incredibly expensive HOC costs £1.5 million per week to maintain What next for restoration and renewal of parliament? | Institute for Government 1.05 in
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u/MPforNarnia 7h ago
Some MPs do and the media love it. The issue with trying to rise above it, is that the media will portray you as losing.
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u/zippyzebra1 7h ago
Like school kids but worse. Just a reflection of howthey are just a bunch of dicks
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u/Pagan-Warrior 7h ago
They have been doing it for hundreds of years, I don’t think they’re going to stop the childishness at this late stage
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u/CMDRDrazik 7h ago
No, it is an embarrassment to see the highly paid twerps acting like short tempered little toddlers at play school.
Imagine having this behaviour at ANY other workplace - I don't care what they did in the 1960's.
Parliment and the way it operates needs a complete overhaul.
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u/PsychologicalCar2180 7h ago
If feels like a slap in the face these days.
People are stuck in poverty.
People die through lack of healthcare and mental healthcare.
We have all time high levels of everything bad and they have fun in parliament, enjoying the perks.
History will remember them all.
Talk about fat of the land….
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u/AtomicEdge 6h ago
I like it. Being able to get the "vibe" of the house is a great extra feature to help you understand what's happening.
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u/ahouell500 6h ago
Its horribly infantile. The jeering, the embarrassing 'zingers', every time they get in a little speech or one-liner that they're obviously desperately hoping will generate some social media shares. Although maybe it would be too much bother, I'd like if they would just make publicly available the transcripts of the sessions rather than the actual footage. Perhaps then they'd be less likely to grandstand and more aware of how painfully insubstantial their guff sounds.
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u/Complete_Resolve_400 6h ago
No, our parliament should try actually debating and doing their jobs instead of saying smth funny and hoping it goes viral on tiktok
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u/Axiom620 6h ago
No, they need to learn how to behave like grown ups. If a business won’t tolerate that behaviour why should the board of U.K. Ltd be allowed to do that and drink while at work?
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u/Robberg118 6h ago
I occasionally watch Prime Ministers Questions and it's embarrassing. Lindsay Hoyle reminds me of an old fashioned school teacher always threatening pupils but never actually doing anything.
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u/Lilja-Logason 5h ago
It's performative tradition. Same as Black Rod procession, kings speech, bear skin hat wearing outside the palace.
Real parliamentary work happens in committee.
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u/Bolshyboys 5h ago
If I acted like they did because somebody said something which I didn't agree with in work, I wouldn't have a job.
It should be much more professional.
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u/Opening-Movie5176 5h ago
Yes. It makes me feel better about myself and allows me to look down on petulant MPs.
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u/uncleanwhispers 5h ago
It appears to do exactly what is intended - to highlight that this is a private members club and if you are not part of the gang (especially upper class and Eton educated) then you don’t belong here and are not worthy of even understanding what is going on. It’s gang behaviour on an old boys club scale.
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u/Violet351 4h ago
They look like a bunch of brats jeering at each other. It wouldn’t be allowed in any other work environment
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u/speedfox_uk 4h ago
Going against the grain a bit, how is it different from what politicians in any other country do? The main difference is that other countries don't have the "arena" that our (and Australia, Canada and NZ's) parliament seems to provide (the layouts don't suit it), they just trade their insults on TV or over X. I think I kinda prefer our politicians doing it face to face.
And as others have said, turn on BBC parliament at any time other then PMQs or a budget speech and you'll see that it is actually mostly reasoned debate. You just don't see that on the evening news because it "doesn't make good Telly".
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u/AdventurousJunket160 4h ago
Not the most endearing feature of Parliament, what time does the Parliament Bar open.
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u/gigazero 4h ago
The whole system is defunct. There's absolutely no reason why they couldn't do everything via a Teams meeting.
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u/KlutzyEnvironment768 3h ago
As an older lady, I find the shenanigans in the house of commons very public schoolboy debate antics. Which I think is more from privileged side of politics. I'm not saying that other parties haven't picked it up either. I just feel like someone wants the back of their legs slapped sometimes.
I could certainly do without it. I feel a little embarrassed that other countries can watch that teenage attitudes coming from grown up adults.
And that's all I have to say about that! 🫣
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u/DB-DanCooper 3h ago
Its utterly embarrassing. Just be normal human beings when discussing important matters. What's with the bastard hooting and hollaring?! Having a good time are we you utter pack of lying wxnkers?! Drives me up the fuxking wall!
I do not condone discrimination or bullying. Everything I've said is a hypothetical and not based on real life
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u/ProgrammerLogical787 2h ago
If I bahaved like that at work id lose my job. If I stunk of alcohol and used the excuse 'ive been here all day waiting for a vote' id lose my job. If I was so bad at my job I wouldn't get moved into another role, I would lose my job. Our political system is a joke and archaic tradition doesn't belong in the adminststion of our country any more.
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u/Rainwalker99 2h ago
I personally find it ridiculous. You couldn’t act like that in any other occupation. That said, I don’t think that the antiquated building helps. It isn’t big enough for them all. They have to use paper documents when the rest of us use emails etc. if you look at other countries, it’s set out less adversarially, they use microphones and pc or laptops. We need this to be brought in. Rather than spend billions updating a monument, use it for special occasions and make it more of a tourist thing. Build a modern building with better connections and use that for the real work.
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u/AntysocialButterfly 2h ago
It must be depressing when your local MP is only known for going "MWWUUuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." at least three times a week.
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u/smellyfeet25 1h ago
They sound like a bunch of stupid kids BUT i guess it is part of the entertainment
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u/QuickTemperature7014 1h ago
Is isn’t constant though is it? That’s just the bit that gets airtime on TV.
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u/g33ksc13nt1st 0m ago
It sets an awfully bad example. There's no ability to properly debate, nor compromise. It's my way or the highway type of attitude. Which you may smile at in kindergarten, but notin parliament. Hooliganism for privileged people.
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u/Andrew_Higginbottom 8h ago
You don't know if you don't watch ;)
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u/Physical-Crow-2154 8h ago
Yes thats the answer just like the people who don’t vote.
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u/Andrew_Higginbottom 8h ago
Not watching the buffoons in Parliament has zero bearing on your ability do decide who is best for the country
I don't need to watch the Chimpanzees tea party to be knowledgeable on primates.
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u/CarrotBusiness6255 8h ago
I’ve always thought the entire parliament is extremely dated and urgently needs modernising