GTX Parliament Trip

On the 1st of February, bleary eyed, we boarded the 8:20am train for London Euston at Liverpool Lime Street Station, along with Miss Patel, Dr Buschmann and Dr Patchett. We were going on a trip to London to see the Houses of Parliament to give us an insight into the world of politics, the trip also included a visit to the Natural History Museum.
After the surprisingly quick train journey to Euston station we boarded a London Underground train to the Embankment. We enjoyed a walk along the river in the sunshine, spotting the famous sights of London, and we had lunch overlooking the London Eye.
Next we went to Portcullis House - the only way we could get into Parliament. After numerous searches and scans, we were taken by a guide through a tunnel under Bridge Street and into the Houses of Parliament. We were then given a tour of the building, which I found extremely interesting. We could all recognise some parts of the building from the television - e.g. the Central Lobby and the House of Commons - whilst other parts were a new discovery to some of us - e.g. St. Stephen's Hall. Luckily, we got to the House of Commons just before it closed for preparation for a debate - and it was interesting to hear that if all the M.P.s did actually turn up there wouldn't be room for them all in the chamber! During the tour we learnt a lot about the political system in the U.K. - about how Parliament is made up from three parts: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy, and about "ping-pong", a process in Parliament where a legislation is transferred rapidly between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It was intriguing to find out exactly what politicians do in their job, and we were told that the three main things a politician does are representation, legislation and scrutiny. It was also quite surprising to see how old-fashioned Parliament was - for example the politicians still vote by calling "aye" or "no", whereas in some other countries voting is done electronically.
After the tour we had a workshop on the different methods of voting - about how M.P.s are elected in different countries and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. This was followed by a talk by John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat M.P. for Southport, who also used to be a teacher of philosophy and religious studies here at MTBS. He gave us a very good insight into the daily life of a politician, and there was also an opportunity for us to ask him questions.
After this we travelled to the Natural History Museum, where a scientist talked to us about the museum and the work of its scientists. During the talk we could see through into an area where the scientists worked, containing a large array of specimens in jars. Then we then taken to the new Darwin Centre Cocoon, where we followed an interactive exhibition about the work of the scientists at the museum. After a wander around the rest of the museum we took the underground back to Euston station and boarded the Liverpool train.
Daniel Somervell 07.02.10

GTX Parliament Trip

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