Although I left Westminster last year, I still can’t resist exploring Parliamentary sites when I’m on holiday. This summer I’m in Iceland for a few days and that brings me to the great-grandmother of all legislative locations: Thingvellir. The ancient Icelandic Parliament, the Althingi, arose here in 930CE and met every summer until the thirteenth […]
Parliaments of the World
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 9 – Hungary
Along with the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, the Hungarian legislature (Országgyűlés) in Budapest has a building which has more than one point of comparison with Westminster. A recent summer holiday on the Danube Bend has provided the opportunity to look at those in more detail. The Budapest Parliament’s riverside location and Gothic Revival profile immediately call to […]
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 8 – Canada
Of all the legislatures in the world which follow the Westminster model, the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa seems most familiar to British observers. It has a House of Commons, members of Parliament and a Gothic-revival Parliament building, a Hansard, an impartial Speaker (unlike the USA, for example) and procedural manuals and processes which parallel those in […]
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 7 – Malta
The current terrible weather in the UK makes me long for the Med. Some of the best sunshine I’ve had in recent years was in December (yes, December) 2010 when I went on trip to Malta. Being reminded of this, and the fabulous flight over Sicily close to a snow-capped Mount Etna to get there, […]
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 6 – Israel
A recent trip to Jerusalem included a visit to the Knesset. Getting there on foot is quite hard work: up a modern hairpin road on a steep hill outside West Jerusalem (should have taken the bus). Approached from the back, it was rather forbidding because of the high security fence around it, and the untended grounds on […]
Parliament Buildings of the World: No 5 – Sicily
Is there anywhere in the world, I wondered last week, which like the old Palace of Westminster a) was a palace complex built by a Norman king b) had a royal chapel as glorious as St Stephen’s, with an adjoining cloister c) contained a royal bedroom as stunning as the Painted Chamber d) was turned […]
