The Palace of Westminster, the seat of British Government since the creation of the Model Parliament in 1295, is easily recognizable, if for no other reason than the Elizabeth Tower from which Big Ben tolls. If you have ever visited London, you’ve undoubtably walked passed as it’s near the many attractions that every tourist has on the checklist: Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Churchill War Rooms, London Eye, and much more. You can’t deny it, you’ve been there!
You have two options for visiting Westminster: attend a sitting in the House of Commons – if you’re lucky, Prime Minister Questions – or take a guided or unguided tour. Tours today are the de rigueur tourist site you know and expect: purchase a ticket online, show up at the ticketed time, go through a security screening, and listen to an officially approved (e.g., sanitized) history of Britain and government.
Before The Loss of Innocence
While preparing for a trip to London in January 1993 – primarily job interviews – I learned that foreign visitors to the United Kingdom could apply to visit Westminster on Friday afternoons: typically, Friday sittings adjourned late morning or early afternoon to allow MPs to travel home. You applied to a designated MP. I wrote, received my pass (signed by “Pond”, though found no MP other than Chris Pond, first elected in 1997), and on a gray, cold January Friday entered the Palace of Westminster through a street-level door.
The overall casualness surprised me: an expected/preferred Line of Route is on the back of the pass, but it was more suggested than required. While many visitors joined tours led by third-party guides, I was alone and on my own: wandering from room to room, awed by the architecture and overall beauty of the building. No staff pushing me along, no (noticeable) security protecting the grounds or random MPs. It’s me with camera wandering through the hallowed halls of Westminster, IKYN.
So what did I see, where did I go? Where Queen Elizabeth II put on her robes for the State Opening of Parliament. The floor of the House of Lords and the House of Commons (no, I couldn’t sit in seats or touch the Mace, you stayed at the far end). Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons, quickly walked past me in the gorgeous Central Lobby. For perhaps 45-60 minutes I wandered, totally alone, totally unbothered.
Final Thoughts
Of all my travels, visiting Westminster remains a prized memory, one of the most amazing and surprising places I’ve ever had the privilege to visit. Even then, in the moment, I couldn’t grok that I was (legally) in the fucking seat of the British government without minders or staff or whatever. And, today, totally impossible to imagine after September 11 or July 7 terrorist attacks and many other bombings over the years. Only the MPs themselves have that privilege. And yet, for one Friday afternoon, I was also so privileged.
