Today began even earlier than yesterday. We met in front of the hotel at 8:15 to travel to Parliament. By 9:15 we had made our way to Parliament for a walking tour of the House of Parliament (otherwise known as the Palace of Westminster) . Photographs were not allowed inside -- too bad -- I saw so many lovely things. We were given a tour of the House of Lords, the Queen's Robing Room where the Queen gives her annual speech, the House of Commons, and the basement area where the original building remains.
Structurally, the layout included a central lobby and ceremonial rooms. After coming through the public entrance - St Stephen's entrance - the approach to the Central Lobby of the Palace is through St Stephen's Hall from St Stephen's Porch at the southern end of Westminster Hall. Central Lobby, a large octagonal hall, is the centrepiece of the Palace. When waiting to see (or 'lobby') their MP, members of the public wait here.
From the Central Lobby, corridors lead north to the House of Commons Lobby and Chamber and south to the Peers' Lobby and House of Lords Chamber.
Beyond the House of Lords are the ceremonial rooms used during the State Opening of Parliament - the Queen's Robing Room and the Royal Gallery - reached by a separate entrance under Victoria Tower. The Royal Gallery is often used when members of the two Houses meet together to hear addresses by visiting heads of State or Government. To the north of the House of Commons are the Speakers' and Serjeant-at-Arms's rooms, and offices for ministers and officials. Beyond these is one of the most famous features of the Palace - the Clock Tower (Big Ben).
We learned a bit of the history of the building, what happens at Parliament, how MPs (ministers of Parliament) represent their constituents, what Parliament's role is (What Parliament does, its role in UK politics, and its relationship with Government, the Crown and Europe), and what happens in Parliament on a regular basis, including Question Time, Ministerial Statements and Early Day Motions. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask government ministers questions. Minsterial statements occur after Question Time (and any urgent questions that may have been allowed) a Minister may make an oral statement to the House. Ministers can make written, as well as oral, statements to Parliament. They are normally used to put the day-to-day business of government on the official record and in the public domain. Early day motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they're used for reasons such as publiciszng the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.
After our tour, we were provided a panel discussion at 11:00 a.m. on "Regionalism, Devolution and the EU" in the Committee Room of the House of Commons, PEEL Room. Panelists included: Liam Byrne, MP Labour's Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill )from the House of Commons -- and Fulbright alum); Caroline Pidgeon, AM and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly and Vice Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee; Mary Honeyball, MEP Labour Member of the European Parliament, currently the Socialist and Democrat Coordinator and Labour party spokesperson on the Committee for Culture and Education; and Steve Glibert, MP and LibDem committee member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing.
By 12:30, we departed Parliament for Sullivan & Cromwells via the District Line to Temple tube station. Established in 1972, Sullivan & Cromwells's London office is the largest branch offices outside the U.S. and a natural focal point for cross-border European transactions. The London legal staff have specialist expertise in equity and debt capital markets, M & A and private equity, project development and finance, real estate private equity and finance, leveraged and acquisition finance, antitrust and EU Competition law, tax and U.S. litigation. Needless to say, their offices were quite spacious and the lunch (generously sponsored by Willaim A. Plapinger, Coordinator of European Offices and US-UK Fulbright Commissioner) was superb!
After the group lunch, the Scholars Forum took place at 2:00 p.m. Fulbright Scholars presented for 10 minutes on their time in the UK thus far, and we shared any project outcomes that were available at the time. This was an extremely interesting two hours of sharing and learning each others' successes and challenges this past six months has brought.
Dinner took place at 6:00 p.m. -- a buffet dinner and viewing of the Geffrye Museum. The Geffrye Museum is one of London's best-loved and most unique museums. It is situated in east London and gives an insight into how Londoners have lived over the years. It shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day. Collections comprise furniture, textiles, paintings and objects displayed in a series of period rooms. We were joined by a few of the US-UK Fulbright Commissioners which allowed for a bit of social networking and sharing of our time here in the UK.
Some of us made our way to the hotel for an early night (10:00 p.m.); others decided to check out the evening pub life. I was beat and had hoped to get Internet access, so I fell in with the former crowd and made an early night of it to pack for our departure to Cornwall in the morning.
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