Is the British sense of tradition helping or hindering our democracy?
Matthew:
November 17th, 2006
The Queen opened the new session of Parliament today amid extravegant scenes of pageantry, costume and tradition.
For example, a representative of the gorvernment is ‘taken hostage’ by the palace as a guarantor of the monarchs safety. Despite the controversies surrounding the present government, they are fairly unlikely to capture the Queen and stage a coup d’etat, leaving the MP for South Shields to enjoy a quiet gin and tonic in the palace.
Another traditional role is that of ‘Black Rod’. It is his job to summon the MP’s from the House of Commons into the House of Lords, where the speech is delivered. As Black Rod approaches the lower house, the MP’s slam the door in his face, in a symbol of independence from the House of Lords. Black Rod then hammers on the oak door with his staff, and indignantly summons the commoners to attend to the Queen in the upper house.
For me, these traditions help to add a richness and sense of history to our political process, and remind us of the hundreds of years of democracy that preceded us.
However, there is an argument that these elaborate, ancient protocol only serve to obscure the real functions of parliament and reinforce the idea that politics is detached from real life and has no relevance to today’s society. People with this idea become disenfranchised with the politcal process and neglect their vote.