Touring Parliament.

I went on a tour of Parliament today. Well first, I got evacuated from my building because there was a gas leak somewhere in the vicinity. But the timing worked out perfectly, as I was already on my way out.

But back to Parliament. It's held at the Palace of Westminster, which looks like this on the outside:

And on the inside...well they don't let you take pictures. But I've linked some pictures for you to look at.

We entered at St. Stephen's Entrance, where we had to go through security and take a picture for our visitors badge and whatnot. From there, we walked into Westminster Hall, which was built in 1097 and is the oldest remaining part of the palace. We walked through Norman's Porch, which is on the way from the Sovereign's Entrance under Victoria Tower (where the Queen enters on the State Opening of Parliament) to the Robing Room (where she puts on her official robes and the Imperial State Crown).

After that, we walked through the Royal Gallery and into the Chamber of the House of Lords. Members of the House of Lords ("peers") are not elected. They are either Lords Spiritual (bishops of the Church of England) or life peers appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. The room is gorgeous -- decorated in red and gold. There is also a throne for the Queen, made of mahogany and painted with 23-point-something karat gold leaf. Posh.

Then we walked through several ornately decorated lobbies and into the much plainer Chamber of the House of Commons. Members are elected democratically, and no monarchs ever enter (after a little incident with Charles I in 1642). The opposing parties sit opposite each other, and their debates can get pretty crazy. This is Gordon Brown (former Prime Minister) and David Cameron (current Prime Minister) argue over election and taxes:

It's interesting, because they're so formal ("my right honorable friend" instead of using the person's name), but they can also get incredibly unruly. 

We ended the tour where we began: Westminster Hall.