Cobbett's Corner

The House Magazine

Issue 1258 | Monday 21st April 2008

Cobbett's Corner: Rise of the happy-clappers

I am such a stick-in-the-mud old traditionalist that I positively wince when I hear clapping in the chamber of the House of Commons. I used to think it was as incongruous and out-of-place as clapping in church, then I realised that that was happening too.

The clapping that started outside Westminster Abbey during the funeral service for Diana Princess of Wales, spread – horror upon horrors – to inside the great edifice as well.

I was brought up on a healthy diet at Westminst...


Village Idiot

Parliamentary Monitor

Issue 158 | Monday 10th March 2008

Village Idiot

Mop-headed Henley MP Boris Johnson has been given the Institute of Public Relations president’s medal for his “unique communications style and ability to engage with his audience”.
With the Archbishop of Canterbury still sizzling under the media magnifying glass over his comments about Sharia law, now seems an appropriate time to point to one of Boris’s lesser known suggestions: “I’m calling for Sharia law for bicycle thieves.”


The Western Mail’s Westminster-base...


BROWN'S BRITAIN

Read the prime minister's vision for Britain and the Labour Party in an exclusive article

CAMERON'S CHALLENGE

Conservative leader David Cameron hails the party's policy review process

PARLIAMENTARY POWER

John McFall looks at Parliament's role in assessing public appointments