Rebel Labour MP John McDonnell shocked the world of parliamentary columnists today. Apopleptic with rage over the government’s unilateral decision over the new Heathrow runway, the MP for Hayes and Harlington grabbed the gilt silver mace off the central table in the commons, then carried it away and laid it to rest on the back benches.
The speaker promptly invoked some archaic ritual to ban McDonnell, whose constituency includes parts of Heathrow Airport, from the house for five days.
John Snow’s blog wondered whether the outburst really warranted such a harsh penalty. It’s all down to the historic rituals and traditions of Parliament, which are in themselves rather like the rituals and traditions of mid-range English public schools. Indeed, I bet McDonnell feels as though he has been suspended from school for a trivial but highly totemic breach of procedure – like stealing the school mascot.
Parliament’s mace is the symbol of the British sovereign, in both senses of the term. Constitutionally, all power resides in the monarch, ie the Queen. But in effect all power is exercised by the government through their majority of parliament; the Queen is in the rather envious position of being able reign without having to rule.
Due to complicated reasons of English history and the English tendency toward conservatism we never got to have a real republic in the UK, so the mace represents the power of the monarch devolved to parliament. Parliament can’t properly sit without the mace. Every morning when parliament opens the Serjeant at Arms brings the mace in, and every evening she takes it away again when they shut. It is hugely symbolic; it is the power of parliament.
So McDonnell was actually making quite a bold statement. In picking up the mace and carrying it to the labour backbenches he was actually questioning the government’s legitimacy. The symbolism of his protest suggests that he feels the government is no longer worthy of its control of the sovereign constitutional power of the state.
I took a look at McDonnell’s blog. I can’t understand why this guy is a Labour MP, as he seems to disagree with everything New Labour stand for. Still, it’s nice to see someone in Parliament who has a conscience, rather than the slick-fuck snakeoil salesman types that have become the new ‘political class’.
Unfortunately, the media have a way of deliberately ignoring those who present radical views, so I’m not too optimistic we’ll see that much more of McDonnell in the future.
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