堂堂大国议会，竟然用脚投票？

因为标题点进来的你一定很好奇吧，议会这么庄严肃静的地方，英国人居然用脚投票？

Hm...m，首先，它并不是一个“庄严肃静”的地方，为啥？

因为“嘘声”和“指责”在某种程度上来说是英国议会文化的一部分。

议员们通过这种方式来表达自己对对方观点的不满和反对，而且这也是被议会的传统和规则所接受的。

议员之间的激烈争论并不罕见，历史上极其偶尔还会有人因情绪上头而导致肢体冲突。

近年来大家是文明了不少，但“口嗨”依旧存在。

2019年9月，时任首相鲍里斯·约翰逊在下议院(House of Commons)对着反对党挥臂大呼，“想推翻本届政府，你们放马过来吖~”；

而反对党议员则高喊“首相辞职”，场面一度失控，下议院议长（Speaker）不得不连喊至少12次“肃静”来维持秩序。

所以英国议会多的是“紧张气氛”和议员之间的“激烈争论”，不过，也有着严格的规则和程序，让议员们通常通过辩论和投票来解决分歧。

说到投票，人英国大议会还真不是举手手表示赞成或反对，他们真的是“用脚投票”。

但是，并非脱了鞋袜高举臭jio.

Aye and No Lobbies in the Commons and the Content and Not Content Lobbies in the Lords, due to the different terms used by each House.  

在历史上，英国议会确实有一段时间不允许议员们携带“大宝剑”进入议会大厅。

这是因为在中世纪和早期现代时期，议会会议有时会变得非常激烈，甚至可能发生暴力冲突。为了防止暴力事件的发生，议员们被要求在进入议会大厅之前将他们的剑和其他武器存放起来。

不过，随着时间的推移，议会的规则和文化也发生了变化，没人会带着“大宝剑”“上朝”了，旧的存放传统也就逐渐被雨伞的存放所取代。

一来是因为英国的天气多变，议员们经常需要携带雨伞。议会大厅外或内部设有专门的地方存放雨伞；

二来，我想真的打起架来，雨伞戳人也是很疼的吧 🤭

不过这也显得议会变得更加注重理性讨论和和平解决分歧，而不是通过武力或暴力。

中世纪时，为了确保议员们在议会中的辩论不会升级为肢体冲突，两排座位之间的距离设置也很巧妙，不长不短刚好是“一把剑的长度”.

也就是说如果议员们想要攻击对方，他们需要从座位上站起来并拔剑，这样就给了对方足够的时间来反应和防御。

英国议会下院的座位布局通常被称为“对立长凳模式”（opposition benches），这种布局方式使得执政党和反对党的议员们面对面坐着，象征着政治辩论和对立。

更多议会相关的英文内容，

来看看今天的推文吖~ 

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Hi, everyone. And welcome back to Britain Under the Microscope. 欢迎回来【闲话英伦】.

Hi,安澜.

Hi, everyone.

By the way, how long do these sessions last and how frequent not just Prime Minister’s question time, but just in general they do debate every day.

Yeah. They can last for hours, they can go into the night. And if it's a particularly big issue, it's not unheard of for them to go through the night debating.

And you're not allowed to eat and drink, that doesn't sound like a very easy job. Just from the work hours.

It kind of stops them from speaking too much because eventually they all get hungry.

And then what the whole debate is adjourned or is just finished.

It can be finished or it can be adjourned. So how they vote is they don't take hands. They vote literally with their feet. So when they're ready for a vote, they will go into one room for yes, and one room for no, then they'll count the people in the room.

Is it because you guys have never heard of the voting machine the digital voting button?

These are rules that came into effect three hundred four hundred years ago and they work.

So why change them?

I think this is what's really interesting because you kept a lot of the rituals.

Yeah.

It's so highly ritualistic.

Oh god, yes. For example, MPs aren't allowed to wear hats or swords in the House.

Hats I understand,  that's a respect thing.

Yeah.

Swords like who? Oh, okay, again this was ages and ages ago.

Well, absolutely.

So there is actually still a place outside where MPs can leave their swords. But now they use them for umbrellas.

I suppose you can poke someone with the umbrella.

Well. You notice that everyone is facing each other. So you got one side is the government, one side is the opposition, and the space between the two, you can see there's a line by the feet of the MPs on the front bench. No one can cross that line and the distance between those two lines is how long a sword is.

So it's like you can't even reach it if you have a sword.

If you have a sword, so you can't stand up and stab your opponent.

You know what I think. They probably learned it the hard way. It probably led to sword fights before.

Yeah, it did.

And people did get killed for a speaking.

I'm sure they did.

That so now it's just leave your swords in the sword room.

Yeah.

It's like disarm before you go into the room for the debate, it needs to be a verbal debate.  They kept them apart because emotions are high, they don't want them to fight. I hope they have security though.

Of course they do. But it's also illegal to wear armor in the House of the Parliament as well.

Well. If you get rid of the swords, you, I guess you can get rid of the armor.

Yeah. And the MPs aren't allowed to have their hands in their pocket.

It’s show that they don't have weapon, concealed weapon.

I think so. I did actually try to look up why that's the case and I think that's probably the most likely reason why.

Yeah, I don't want to think about other reasons.

No.

Yeah. But let's dial back a little bit.

Earlier on, you said when they want to put something to a vote, so they debate there for you, let's just say there's a new policy, a new law being proposed and then finally after they debated all the details, and they want to let everyone put in a vote, instead of just pressing a button, they will literally vote by going into the “YES room” or the “NO room”.

Yeah.

And is that why in English they say vote with their feet?

Yeah.

用脚投票是这个意思, 就是我进一个YES的房间, 进一个NO的房间.

But now it just means you show you don't like something by...

Action.

By action by going away.

So nowadays when you say vote by one's feet is you literally you don't say I don't like it or I don't support it, you just leave.

Exactly. Vote with your feet.

Vote with your feet.

And the other thing is I keep hearing when I was watching “Yes Minister”, I keep hearing things like the Backbenchers.

Yes.

What does that mean? Does that literally mean people MPs who are sitting at the back?

Yes, so those are the MPs who aren't very important.

They're just there for the ride.

They're just there because they've been voted in, but they're not Ministers. They don't hold any particular posts in the government. But the Backbenchers are essentially the most of the MPs. They're the majority of the MPs.

They don't get to speak. They only get to say hear hear or “ er...r”.

Or they can speak, but it is done by seniority. So for example, if someone who is more important than them wants to speak, they take precedence.

But they can have the voting right?

They do.

Because they can vote with their feet.

But does it actually happen when they don't vote on the side of their party?

That is very rare,  but it does happen. So parties have what they call Whips.

就这个叫党鞭, Whips are what do they actually do?

Whips represent the party and they're there to get the MPs to vote for their party.

Literally wielding a whip go like...

Literally not wielding a whip. They don't gonna like beat up the MPs.

Figuratively.

But the thing is if you don't vote for your party, then that causes major issues. But sometimes if something is really controversial,  the PM, the Prime Minister doesn't have popular support, then even the whips can't get people to vote for their party.

So basically, let me recap. So on one side you have执政党, you have the one in power, on the other side you have said反对党the opposition.

And sometimes it's the case where an MP can cross the floor. So that means if they don't agree with their party anymore, they can walk across.

To the other side.

To the other side. Yeah.

Will they then be sort of what's the word I'm looking for. Does that mean that you've given up on your party and then they will kick you out like they revoke your membership or something.

Pretty much.

But what happens is that in many cases, the seat that MP has becomes the other parties.

Oh, I see, so it does change. Okay. It's very complex, but it's very interesting and highly ritualistic.

Yeah.

I have one more question.  What about your monarch? So the King or the Queen?  Now I know they're a figurehead, but in this do they ever come to the Parliament?

They do and you say that they’re figurehead, actually the King or Queen is technically the government, their State.

So is their parliament?

It's their parliament, the House of the Parliament is a Royal Palace.

Mhm.

Even though the King or Queen doesn't actually live there and they only go there once a year.

Yep.

They go there for either the Queen's speech or The King's Speech.

They don't have King’s or queen's question time, do they?

No, this is what we call the State Opening of Parliament.

So during the summer months a Parliament doesn't sit. There's no parliament in July or August.

Is it because these MPs went on vacation?

They go on holiday and also they go back to their constituencies.

哦，就是回到他们的选区去了.

Yeah, so when Parliament opens again, the King comes along and he reads out a speech detailing what the government is going to do over the next year.

Okay.

This is very ritualistic, because traditionally the King or the Monarch and Parliament have had a very bad relationship. We had a Civil War in the 17th century.  What happens is the King goes to the House of Lords, and they call someone, someone called Black Rod. Black Rod is a messenger. He goes to the House of Commons, the door is open to the House of Commons, and then they slam it in his face.

In the King's face?

No, in messenger’s face.

Oh, it is messenger’s face. Well, the messenger represents the King.

So he has to knock on the door and this is to show the independence of Parliament, basically saying “okay, if you want us to come, you have to knock, you can't just walk in”.

Walk in. Oh, wow, even till now.

Even till now.

Okay. That's very interesting. 国王派来的信使要敲门, 敲门的时候先把门摔你脸上, 然后让你再敲门进来.

Yeah. The last time King went into the House of Commons that caused the English Civil War.

Okay.

But it's not all bad for the monarch, to guarantee his safety an MP is kidnapped.

Kidnapped?

Kidnapped, yeah.

So they will abduct an MP?

So an MP is held hostage at Buckingham Palace.

So it's like exchanging hostage. You send the monarch here to the House of Parliament you can take one of our MP and then when the King safely returns, you will return our hostage as well.

That is exactly what happens.

Why not the prime minister?

The prime minister has to sit and listen to the speech.

So it's just one of those Backbenchers.

So the whole idea is if Parliament kills the King, then they kill the hostage.

How, do they still do that?

Every year.

Who's the one chosen to be held hostage in Buckingham Palace? Because now it's so highly ritualistic. They probably want to do that.

They do. It's actually supposed to be quite nice. The MP arrives at Buckingham Palace. They give them a gin and tonic, and sometimes they give them a tour of the Palace. Yeah, actually quite a nice day out.

Yeah, exactly, as opposed to all your colleagues sitting there in the House of Parliament listening to a long old speech.

Yeah.

So I remember reading an interview with one of the MPs that did it and he said it's really nice. I sat down with the Palace staff. They made me a gin and tonic. I watched the TV for a bit and then I kind of went for a walk around the Palace.

I bet now it's a well sought after position, could be abducted.

Exactly. It's quite nice.

“Abducted or kidnapped” by King's staff or the Palace.

Yeah. It's a nice day out for them.

Okay. So we are going to probably wrap up here. We have covered some of the very interesting albeit slightly eccentric habits and rituals having carried out for hundreds of years in the parliament in the UK.

Yes.

Okay.

Let us know what you think in our comment section and also if you have any other ideas for episodes, don't forget send them in the comment section.

Okay, and we will see you next time.

Bye.

Bye. 

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英文文稿校对：Wency & Jenny

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