England: Lillian (Lilly) Marto (A New Experience)

A New Experience

Recently I watched Parliament in session for the first time. After my British Politics class, a few of my classmates and I went to see members of the House of Commons discuss Private Member’s Bills (PMBs) which are bills introduced to parliament by MPs who aren’t members of the cabinet. PMBs are only discussed on 13 Fridays of a parliamentary session and it was interesting to see the UK government in action.

Getting into parliament was much easier than I thought it would be. All we had to do was go through a small security checkpoint on our way and then we were directed to a worker who gave us a small green slip to sign. By signing the slip we were agreeing to not make any disruptions such as dancing or cheering while we watched the MPs in discussion. We then left our phones and backpacks in small cubbies and on our way in a man told us to enjoy democracy.

It was very interesting to see the MPs in discussion because they were in agreement on many things regardless of the party that they belonged to. They often referred to other MPs as their “right honorable friend” while they were speaking. It was also interesting to watch the other people in the public gallery while we were there. There were many school groups of young children who came in and out and older couples who looked as though going to parliament was part of their routine. Overall, it was interesting to compare the discussions of British MPs to what I am accustomed to seeing from lawmakers in the U.S. and I was surprised and appreciative of how easy it was to witness parliament in session.

Lilly Marto       

Major: Political Science

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin