10 Things You Might Not Know About the Parliament of the United Kingdom

10. Parliamentary footage

Now if you are reading this in the United Kingdom then this will apply to you. You may have found yourself watching a satirical programme that mocks politicians and though they can use footage from TV cameras of their on-goings, they are not allowed to use any footage from the House of Commons in any way. In fact, it is illegal for any broadcasting company to use any footage from the House of Commons Chamber for the purpose of comedy or “light” entertainment.

This, of course, isn’t the case for any other broadcasting companies around the world, but the Commons take this very seriously. This was a condition of allowing cameras into the House of Commons Chamber back in 1988. The condition since then has not been amended.

Still image by HBO Last Week Tonight.

9. “The other place”

As you might be aware there are two Houses within Parliament: the lower House of Commons and the upper House of Lords (sometimes referred to as the House of Peers). But within the House of Commons, Members of Parliament traditionally refer to the House of Lords as “the other place”.

Although it is unclear when this started, it is widely known to have stared around a time of disagreement between the two Houses. Members would…