on living buildings continued

Following my St. Paul's experience, I decided on Thursday, if unconsciously, to keep up my tour of living buildings in lieu of museums. 

And with that I passed on the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms and walked to Parliament Square not expecting that I'd be allowed into the Palace of Westminster.

But allowed I was, past machine-gun carrying policemen, through a metal detector and x-ray machine for my bags, and into Westminster Hall. Through the hall, around a corner, a seat on some benches and eventually in the House of Commons itself to watch a debate on the Silk Commission and the devolution of powers to Wales.

A quiet, friendly debate on a grey afternoon that would eventually give way to rain, it seemed that it might be a harbinger of great changes on the horizon for the United Kingdom. The Conservative member for Monmouth spoke of the possibility of, if there shall be devolved assemblies for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, then, perhaps, there should be one for England. Questions arose on whether the assemblies for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland were granted to quell nationalist sentiment or whether it was due to demands to enhance democracy. Questions too, whether the United Kingdom should seek to reform itself into a federation with members of equal status.

"I think there is a strong case for looking at some form of English Parliament or some means to prevent Welsh and Scottish MPs from voting on matters that affect only England. I repeat that I have already made that viewpoint public. I do not pretend to know the exact answer, but I am in favour of something along those lines. It might well be that at that point, we would have to consider increasing the powers of the Welsh Assembly in line with those of the other parts of the United Kingdom. The hon. Gentleman will know, however, that that is something that happens in many countries across the world—in Canada, Germany and countries with a Commonwealth tradition such as Australia, for example. If that is thought through properly, it can work. My current difficulty is with the asymmetric nature of our arrangements. Giving further powers to Wales in this way—through the Silk commission if that is what it decides—is going to make them even more asymmetric."

Then it was on to the House of Lords.

Where the Commons is plain and green and extremely well-protected, including a wall of glass between the public gallery and the floor of the Commons, the House of Lords is red and ornate and the Strangers' Gallery is open to the air above the Lords.

The Lords held two surprises. The first was that they were debating the Eurozone crisis. I had not expected to find this appointed, upper body, debating a matter of such immediate concern.

The second related to who took part in the debate. The seating plan for the Lords shows that the first two benches immediately to the right of the Lord Speaker are reserved for Bishops. I assumed that the Bishops attendance in the Lords was mostly ceremonial and that they would only attend for the State Opening of Parliament, much like how the Supreme Court Justices attend the Throne Speech in the Senate in Canada. And yet, as I walked into the Strangers' Gallery, there was a bishop, the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, in his vestments, sitting on the Bishops' Bench. What's more, he took part in the debate.

"Our public and political debate is understandably fixed on the latest saga in the eurozone. However, are we conveniently overlooking the pressing question of where growth will come from? This is not just a eurozone problem but one for the whole of Europe. A stable euro requires more balanced trade and growth among its members. The prevailing economic orthodoxy holds that tough austerity and structural reform will ultimately lead to growth. The last two years may suggest that this orthodoxy is wanting.

"Economists will of course point out examples of fiscal austerity preceding economic growth but they all include currency devaluation and/or big cuts in interest rates. Neither option is open to the eurozone economies. It is hardly surprising therefore that household and business confidence is rapidly crumbling across the currency union, depressing economic activity across Europe as a whole. On current trends a series of sovereign and banking defaults looks unavoidable.

"A crisis that started on Europe's periphery has been allowed to grow into a threat to the core of the eurozone and the future of the European project itself. Measures taken across Europe appear to invite economic stagnation and political dislocation, the effects of which can be seen on even the marbled steps of St Paul's."

The Palace of Westminster is grand and historic. But it, like St. Paul's, is also alive even though it's easy to forget the view from outside and the pictures from inside that appear on the evening news not easily connected.

My tour of living buildings will continue on Friday with a visit to the Royal Albert Music Hall for a concert before I collapse into my bunk on the Cap Finestere on Sunday for a two-day cruise to Spain and a complete absence of history and significance.