This has long been a bete noir for me. In Szondy's Britain, one of the first things on the list would be to require all MPs to attend all debates for their full duration unless they were able to provide a written excuse signed by the Speaker.
This would, of course, include requests for potty breaks.
Think of the advantages: MPs would be locked up for many hours in the evening, preventing them from getting into mischief, spending taxpayers money, or draughting new laws; they would actually gain an understanding of how Parliament is supposed to work; and sheer boredom might do what voting hasn't been able to and finally clear that Augean stable out.
Would there be crayons and lots of paste to eat? Would there be a nap break in the middle of the session? It goes without saying that all scissors would have blunt tips.
ReplyDelete(Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but I am imagining the British House of Commons as something like our own American Congress. Either house.)
Don't forget half-pint cartons of milk with little paper straws that collapse before you're halfway through.
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