This week’s Behind the Headlines comes from multimedia journalist Adam Robertson. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week for free, click here.
IF there’s one thing I learned from my trip to Westminster earlier this week, it’s that the people there really don’t like dealing with hypotheticals.
It seemed to be the ultimate go-to for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s spokespeople as they were sent out to face reporters in the immediate aftermath of PMQs.
Faced with questions about consequences for rebel Tory MPs, the implications of the Rwanda Bill on civil servants and yet more of Starmer’s U-turns, refusing to engage with hypothetical scenarios quickly became a common theme.
During my trip to London to shadow The National’s Westminster correspondent Hamish Morrison, I took in a live PMQs, had a wander through the House of Lords and passed a number of people who, up until Wednesday, had only ever existed on my TV.
Speaking of PMQs, which luckily proved to be the liveliest in a few weeks, sitting in the press gallery offered a unique perspective. Things didn’t get off to a great start personally though as, with my lack of suit jacket to go over my shirt and tie deemed unacceptable, I was forced to borrow from the wide selection hanging outside for the rookies who fail to turn up in the proper attire.
As I noticed with my first trip to Holyrood earlier this year, it sounds obvious but it really is remarkable how much MPs chip away at each other rather than listening to the question they’ve just asked.
READ MORE: PMQs: Rishi Sunak accuses SNP of 'politicising' Horizon scandal
It’s either that or they’re looking at their phones. Despite being slightly restricted, the gallery offered an entirely different view of the Commons and it was hard not to focus on the dozens of other MPs while Sunak and Starmer traded blows.
If there’s one key takeaway I’ve had from my trips to both parliaments, it’s that I don’t envy the Speaker or the Presiding Officer. Imagine a teacher trying to control their class on the last day of school, except doing it on a daily basis. That’ll give you some idea of what they’re up against.
It probably sounds ridiculous but there was something surreal about seeing the whole thing up close. It’s hard to put into words, but when you watch as much politics play out on screens as I do, it becomes difficult not to imagine all the MPs as characters in some bizarre comedy-drama. With that in mind, watching my colleague hold the door open for former immigration minister Robert Jenrick did feel somewhat odd.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak laughs and ignores voter in 'appalling' Sky News clip
Walking through the centuries-old palace, it’s easy to see how ordinary people perhaps feel disconnected from modern politics. It literally exists as its own little world – complete with a semi-secret tube station entrance – and despite the fact thousands pour in for tours every year, in the grand scheme of things only a select few will ever take in its many, many corridors.
I’ll say this for the place though, however cliché it might sound. It at least had the decency to stock some cold cans of Irn-Bru.
While our Scottish team might suffer down here, at least we've got that to look forward to.
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