We Need To Change The Layout Of The Commons Chamber

Whatever the outcome of today's day of reckoning, there is a simple change that could be made to improve the way we do politics at Westminster, and it will be up to the new Speaker to make it happen.

Part of the problem at Westminster and a real encouragement to the two party domination that has served us so badly, lies in the layout of the House of Commons chamber itself. The collegial layout of the chamber, with rows of baying members facing each other encourages the snarling exchanges at Prime Ministers Questions and, since this is all most people get to see of our democracy in action, this is how they believe all parliamentary business is conducted.

However, most other well-established democracies have long since abandoned the collegial layout in favour of some sort of semi-circle or horseshoe layout, common in both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly as well as in council chambers across the land. Such a layout encourages a consensual rather than a confrontational engagement and also implicitly recognises that not all members form either the government or the official opposition.

Thus a simple way of improving the way we do politics would be to change the layout of the House of Commons, sling out the long benches and give members a comfortable chair, a desk with access to modern communications and allow them to do their difficult jobs more effectively.