You know the USA is in trouble, when people are saying "Our politicians need to be more like Rishi Sunak"

The Mother of The House is the longest serving female M.P. and the Father of The House is the longest serving male M.P.

It is important for a democracy to be able to ensure a peaceful transfer of power between different governments.

As a brit, I can't believe how American politicians behave. Ours are brutal to one another, but it's done so with respect.

Here in the UK we are proud of the way in which we have just seen power handed over in our country. No disputes about the validity of the ballot. No court cases to challenge it. No thugs armed with Bear Spray, Tear Gas and Batons trying to storm our seat of Government in an attempt to reverse the result. Just graciousness, decency and civility. I agree with you that you Americans could learn a few things from us. Things that, sadly, you seem to have forgotten. 🙂

A backbencher IS a “normal member” of parliament. One that doesn’t have seniority in the party or a leadership position in the party, nor a secretary in the PM’s cabinet. The name comes from them sitting in the middle and back rows of parliament rather than the front rows where party leadership sits.

Not only are both opponents polite and respectful to and of each other, but neither is grandstanding, talking about themselves or their luxuriant hair, or trying to sell shoes, bibles, $2 notes with their face on, or threatening to dealive their opponents or go after them. Neither are too old for the jobs they do and both are talking about how to serve their country, rather than their party, their supporters, or themselves. It's such a stark contrast to politics in the USA. So refreshing.

The cabinet (ministers) sit on the front bench. Everybody else sits behind them on the benches at the back and is called a backbencher. A backbencher is a constituency MP who does not hold an additional government position.

It's the other way around. It is the North of England that is traditionally Labour voting, and the South which is traditionally Tory voting. Labour's heartlands are seen as being the large industrial towns and cities of the North (and Midlands). The distribution of support is more complex and nuanced than it used to be, but even in this post-industrial period the North has stayed a Labour stronghold. However what you do get in the North are large areas between the towns and cities of open countryside and relative wilderness. The Tories remain the traditional party of the land, and these sparsely populated northern uplands have generally stayed loyal to the Conservatives. Red valleys. Blue hills. Rishi Sunak's home constituency is one of these loyal blue areas within the Yorkshire dales.

Kier Starmer, I believe he is completely sincere and genuine in saying that it's about service and country before party.

Whilst I don't really trust politicians, Keir Starmer was late to enter politics and was previously a human rights lawyer, so I'm optimistic.

It's called being gracious in defeat. 😊

The Scepter represents the Monarch in Parliament

On the whole "politics as service" thing. It does actually come off as genuine from Sir Keir. He's not actually been a politician very long, only joining Parliament in 2015 - before that he was the Director of Public Prosecutions (our Chief Prosecutor), and before that a Defence lawyer when he often did cases pro bono.

That "sceptre" is a mace Connor. You should look at a video on the State Opening of Parliament. It's full of quirky traditions. Mother/Father of the House is longest serving member (he's talking about Diane Abbott in this case, the one with the chunky necklace you noticed)

I'm British from the north. The service comment. I believe it more from him than from conservatives. But not by much

We Brits consider the democratic transfer of power more important than the character of the people involved. The decision of the people is more important than the desires of a politician. However, respect of all parties is paramount, and essentially the loser should be HUMBLE.

I don't think Rishi Sunak has ever seemed more dignified and serious than he has since the election and his defeat in it. Anyway, to answer one of your questions, Labour is mostly the party of the cities - originally, of the urban working class - while the Conservatives are a party with a strong rural base - the small towns and villages and traditionally the wealthier voters. That's highly simplified and doesn't account for other parties, but if you look at a UK Election map where seats are coloured according to the winning party, it might look like the Conservatives and Labout aren't far apart in terms of the area their colour covers - but that's because a city with 500,000 people might have five seats covering a relatively small area where the countryside seats cover a large area but only the same population.

great video man, was actually quite moving seeing your reaction to what we do and how we do it. cheers.

The British Labour party have given us the NHS, Free Education, the Welfare State, which cares for citizens from cradle to grave. Yes there have been bad apples but overwhelming they have given us a far far better country.

Watching this video makes me so proud to be British and the peaceful transfer of power. Wonderful. This is democracy.

Did you know the first British colonial parliament in north America which was in Philadelphia, was based on the Westminster parliament London.

Connor i am from Yorkshire in the North The North is a heavy working class area dominated by ex Coal Mining communitys, farmers and working class towns basically people that the conservatives have screwed over in some way shape or form (look up 80s miners strike) hence we tend to distrust them So typically (typically, not always) these areas vote labour, Rishi is part of one of the few that voted Conservative for whatever reason this time around (i can only assume that North Yorksire wasnt as heavilly effected by it as West and South Yorkshire were ....but that is just an assumption)

As a Labour member and thus voter, I've always struggled to dislike Rishi Sunak. A) Because he supports the same football team as me. B) Because, for all his fault's, I do think his heart's in the right place and he isn't a playing a "lovable buffoon" character or a war criminal like certain other PM's from the past.

I do wonder why the US seems to make it so difficult to vote. In the UK every village or suburb of every town has a polling station. My dad has a postal vote, I went to my local polling station after I finished work (they're open from 07:00 am till 10:00 pm) and walked straight in. gave my name and showed my ID, put my X next to my chosen candidate popped it in the sealed box and went on my way. I bet the whole process took less than 5 minutes and absolutely no fuss. . Why do US voters have to queue for hours just to vote.

The mace is a symbol of royal authority. It's to show that the crown gives permission for the house to meet and pass laws, etc. Its more ceremonial, but the King is not allowed in the house of commons so the sceptre represents him

Table manners and how to use cutlery would be a good start to acting civilised in public? They can introduce classes in school. In Europe we look at the USA and think "oh dear what went wrong?" Most European parliaments are quite civilised. I am living in Spain and their government seems pretty similar to the UK.

"Why does only one guy have a wig?" That's because Michael Fabricant lost his seat!

It's not just the most diverse government, it's one of the youngest too. Labour has more MPs in their twenties than ever before. Watching both sides of the parliament it was actually quite a shocking difference with the Conservatives mostly comprised of old white men whilst labour was an almost equal mix of men, women, black, brown and white. It's a refreshing change to have a majority government that aren't all ex public schoolboys with family money behind them.

It's maybe because Americans have been raised in a "Jungle Type Mentality"

Aaah connor, when you are comparing your politcians to rishi you know you are in trouble 😂

The 'Mother of the House' is the title given to the longest continuously serving female MP in the UK parliament. Diane Abbott has served as the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 - when she was elected as the first Black woman MP.

It should be said that just before the election the new Prime Minister was trying to get rid of the "Mother of the House" he was paying tribute to here. She had been suspended from his party for a year after writing a letter claiming that Jewish and Roma people do not suffer from prejudice like black people.

Starmer is a great guy, he is sincere. Starmer does mean what he says when he says that the government is about service. The first really decent man to become PM for a very long time.

I hadn't heard these two speeches, but I had seen what preceded this, and you might like to see that as well. I think it's called something like an Approbation, and is rather an extraordinary piece of tradition. King Charles III formally opens Parliament next week. ( And that's an astonishing and quirky ceremony in its own right; I don't know whether the King will feel well enough to wear the Imperial State Crown, but I do know when he sends his emissary - who is called Black Rod - to summon the presence of the House of Commons, the doors will be slammed in her face.) But these two speeches were preceded by a clerk in the House of Lords reading Letters Patent from the King, in which he appoints certain members of the House of Lords ( including the Archbishop of Canterbury!) to act in his stead. These Lords then summon a delegation from the House of Commons, and give them permission to elect a Speaker. The delegation then goes back, and the Father of the House ( the longest serving MP) sits in the Speaker's Chair. There was only one candidate, Sir Lindsay Hoyle ( who is MP for Chorley in Lancashire ). He was proposed in a witty speech by another Lancashire person, the MP for Lancaster and Wyre. Much was made of Sir Lindsey's rather magnificent Lancashire accent. ( The Wallace and Gromit accent; don't for goodness' sake confuse it with Yorkshire!) He was voted in; and then he was dragged to his Chair! By tradition he is supposed to be reluctant... But he remains 'Speaker-elect', until the King confirms his appointment. ( I think he is the 158th Speaker!) I have been on the edges of politics, and I think you are being a bit hard on politicians. Somebody's got to do it; unbelievable tough battles take place, there are some horrible people, but many MPs genuinely try to help their constituents. The House of Commons is deliberately designed to be too small! Traditionally the North is more left-wing than the South, but the real divide is betwen the cities and the countryside, country areas tending to be more Conservative. Rishi Sunak's constituency of Richmond and Northallerton contains fabulously beautiful areas of the Yorkshire Dales, whereas I think Sir Keir Starmer represents Holborn and St Pancras, in central London.

I remember the day when, in US politics, the handover of power was done with the same respect and order; but that did change with Trump; ( I can't address him in any other way - he disgusts me ), and can only hope and pray that the Democratic process will be restored in the upcoming US election. Your comments and observations were flawless, but they always are, and because of that I always enjoy your videos. Cheers ! Sheffield South Yorkshire.

The guy with a wig is law overseer .. No unlawful procedures take place

It's all very civilised connor , he passed the baton over with humility and grace . ( inside though he's gutted ) 😅.

On days like this, where it's pretty much just ceremonial (this first sitting is just for the re-election of the speaker, which passes unopposed, and for members to swear their oath) our politicians tend to be on best behaviour because they know it would reflect badly if they didn't - but don't worry when they get back to real debates and legislation the shouting at each other will be back.

Wasn’t a fan of Rishi as Prime Minister in the slightest but this speech was very gracious. This was good, old fashioned manners and civility. It’s a shame modern discourse in general has deviated from this level of respect. I think the polarising state of the world as it currently is has just made us devolve into immaturity.

This is how it’s done, respect all the way. American politics is like a soap opera, full of discord and anger. America politicians need to be more respectful of their voters.

Nice to meet you Rusty. A backbencher is an MP who is not in the cabinet (a government minister or deputy minister) or the shadow cabinet (the main opposition who provide an opposite person on a man-to-man marking basis)

The Mother/father of the house are the woman and man who have been serving for the longest time in the House of Commons.

The vast majority of MP’s are backbenchers- they are the MP’s who are not part of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet. Those MP’s are also known as Front Benchers. And yes, I do believe Starmer will return this to one of service. He’s this country’s former Director of Public Prosecutions- he understands the need to do not to pantomime.

Joe Biden is 81 Conner.

Every person who sits in a seat (on either side) is an MP, a Member of Parliament. Those MPs chosen for cabinet posts are Cabinet Ministers and sit on the Front Bench (Think Jim Hacker in Yes, Minister). They run the departments and are named Minister of...... (like your Secretary of ........). The only difference is that we have no Minister of the Treasury, they are called the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Cabinet Ministers also represent their own constituency on top of their cabinet duties. Those MPs who sit behind them in the house and simply represent their constituency are Backbenchers (they sit on the Back Benches). The Leader of the Party with the most constituency seats is the Prime Minister, but the PM still represents a constituency and is still a Member of Parliament. They are, in effect, the Chief Minister of the Crown and it is the PM who is asked to form a Government in the Monarch's name.

10:51 "It's weird to see..." but it has been known to happen in the USA; John McCain's courtesy to Barack Obama through the 2008 election, and Obama's reciprocation of it, was a brilliant example from recent history.

that sceptre is a symbol of the Monarchs authority and is removed when the House isnt sitting

In terms of progressive versus conservative, the UK’s centre ground would be considered very progressive compared to the US. For example, free public healthcare is agreed on both sides, though there are differences on the level of spending and the involvement of private sector in providing services. Free healthcare aside, the Democrats could just run on the UK’s worker rights - working time, holidays, holiday pay, overtime, minimum notice periods, family and pregnancy leave and pay, sickness leave and pay, protection of employees on sale of a business, works councils, unfair dismissal, redundancy (RIFs) and anti-discrimination laws.

Hi Connor. It's the State Opening Of Parliament on the 17th of July. The kings speech, the commons slamming the door in Black Rod's face. If you have time to watch it many of the parts of Parliament will be explained.

Those speaches scrambled connors mind, 🤯🤯🤯

Labour traditionally the working class North with a wing of 'progressive' left. However Labour opposed Brexit and their traditional voters jumped to the Tories in 2019 who were for Brexit. Now a new Right-Wing party led by Nigel Farage called Reform UK is hoovering up Labour and Tory votes.

'Why are they standing?' you answered it yourself really - not enough seats. There are 650 MPs but only 427 seats. The House has never been large enough to seat all members, largely through concious design, though usually this is not an issue as they are rarely all present at the same time. In busy sessions it is common for members to stand at the end of the chamber.

The Speaker of the House also used to wear a wig that flowed right down his back. He also used to wear a frilly jabot. The wig was no longer worn after the election of the first female Speaker of the House, Betty Boothroyd in the late 80s/early 90s, if I remember correctly. The frilly jabot disappeared more recently.

Back benchers are mp’s who do not serve in the cabinet (or shadow cabinet ) of the party who they are part of.

You just answered you own question. Not enough seats

I’d recommend listening to the Mother of the House’s speech, it was really impressive and moving and tells you a lot about the way our country has changed in recent years

Backbenchers are junior members of the party whithout ministerial porfolios, who sit at the back of their side of the chamber rather than occupying the senior seats at the front. The Father and Mother of the House are the longest continually serving male and female MPs. The Conservatives tend to be more in the rural south and outer suburbs, Labour in the inner cities and the north. That sceptre is the Royal Mace which is an official royal symbol that parliament has the authority to make laws. It must be displayed while parliament is sitting.

Front Bench - Where the Cabinet/Shadow Cabinet sits. Back Bench is where those not in the Cabinets sits, so more Junior members, or smaller opposition Parties, basically the more sway you have, the closer to the front you sit. Unless your Party is massive like Labour right now :P Regarding what Starmer said, I do believe him, he's already showing it, appointing independent people to key rolls, like James Timpson to Prisons Minister.

K you got me with Bird reference 😂 I've never noticed that til then 👏

the USA used to be like this until Trump

To be fair, it was going to be a hard sell making that phone call: "I just need to find 20 million votes".

All members of commons are MPs Front benches are reserved for the executive but are still mps who hold executive positions . and backbenchers are usual MPs who vote or put forward Bills and can sit on committees. The sceptre is actually the royal mace. It’s the symbol of royal authority and without it commons can’t pass any laws or introduce bills

Mother/Father of the house is a term for the MP who's been in place the longest. Diane Abbott was first elected in 1987 and has been elected in every election since

The 'guy in the wig' is the Clerk of the House (you have a similar position in the US House of Representatives)

In the most simplistic measure, particularly in England, the divide is between densely populated urban areas where the contest is between Labour (left of centre*/progressive) and Conservative (Tory)(right of centre). In less densely populated rural areas the traditional contest is between Liberal Democrats (inheritors of the Whigs/Liberals) and the Conservatives(Tories). Greens are also thrown into the mix. In Scotland and Wales nationalist parties (Scottish Nationalist and Plaid Cymru) which are broadly left of centre have are significant. NI politics are beyond my ken but broadly Nationalist(wishing to unite with the Republic of Ireland) and generally to the left and Unionist in favour of the status quo and more to the right. *Centre is probably more left(progressive) than Center.

The "Father of the House" is an honorific title given to the (male) MP who has had the longest continuous service [And who is also not a Minister / Shadow Minister of the Crown]. They have only one formal duty above those of any other backbench MP, and that is to preside over the election of the Speaker of the House, as and when that is necessary. Following the 2024 General Election, this is Sir Edward Leigh, first elected in 1983. The "Mother of the House" is the corresponding honorific title given to the (female) MP with the longest continuous service [and not a minister...]. Following the 2024 General Election, this is Diane Abbott, first elected in 1987.

The gold thing with the crown on it is The Mace. It's the symbol of The Crown in Parliament

Front benchers are MP's either in the government as minster's like the Prime Minister or leading the front bench of the official opposition on the other side of the house of commons. The back benchers are just normal MP's without a minister role, front bench role or in the leading team of the their political party etc. They work solely for the areas they are elected for. Yes, they aren't enough seat in the House of Commons to fit all of the MP's so you have to prebook you seat by going to morning prayers if your an MP and want a seat.

There are 650 MPs but only 420 or so seats.... its deliberate - most of the time the house is mostly empty. Its only on big occasions that its standing room only.

Father and mother of the house refer to the MP of the appropriate gender with the longest continuous service in the house. If there is a tie (2 or more members elected at the same election) then whoever took the oath of allegiance first is the father. There is no official role for the father other than at the start of a new parliamentary session they oversee the election of the speaker. The term mother of the house is a relatively recent addition and has no role, unless the mother of the house has served longer than the father of the house, see above.

Watch where Lindsay Hall gets nominated

Back benchers are the rank and file members not selected for ministerial or cabinet posts Conor 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I love that you have a Sir Humphrey sixth sense for political talk now 😆

"New members of the House" (ie "New MPs") are MPs elected to the House of Commons for the very first time, in the recent General Election. "Backbenchers" are those junior MPs who are not members of the Cabinet (ie the Government) or the Shadow Cabinet (ie the Loyal Opposition which 'shadows' the Government of the day). In the House of Commons, cabinet members sit on the front bench on the Government side of the House, whilst members of the shadow cabinet sit across from them, on the front benches of the Opposition side of the House. None of the newly-elected MPs is likely to find themselves on the front bench for either the Government party (ie the Labour Party) or on the front bench for official Opposition party (ie the Conservative Party), because hey are newly-elected and are to a large extent an unknown quantity. Thus, "backbenchers" are the more junior MPs in the House of Commons and will almost certainly include all newly-elected MPs.

The "Cool sceptre" is in fact the Mace, which signifies the House is in legal session as formally authorized by the King. When the mace is not there the House is not in session and cannot do anything. When the Commons walk over to the Lord to hear the King's speech, the officials take the mace with them so no business can be transacted in their absence.

14:26 Rishi was a hedge fund manager and Kier was a leading Human Rights Lawyer. In fact, he’s the inspiration for Darcy from Bridget Jones Diary! 😂

The areas of the political parties more mixed in the U.K. and because we are smaller it helps stop polarisation, thank goodness. Also we have been doing this a long time and I think that helps.

It is called 'The Mother of Parliaments' for a reason.

Also worth a mention is that whether good or bad all senior politicians of all main UK parties have worked their way up through the system ........ all including any Prime Minister started their political career as an area MP. And consequently all know each other and (perhaps) respect each other. More importantly they and their collegues and advisors have a broad depth of knowledge about how governements work.....not only UK but also other counties........and how things get done or not. While I'm not nieve enough to think that money and influence do not play a part in selection and promotion ....... it is just not possible for someone who is not a career UK polititian to buy their way into the top jobs.

It IS impressive, and the speeches WERE very decent, but don’t worry, they’ll be at one another’s throats before long.

All of the people in the house of commons are MPS ( members of Parliament) backbenchers are MPs who haven't been given a job in the cabinet or shadow cabinet, even the PM ( Prime minister) is an MP

Back benchers are ordinary MPs. Effectively their sole responsibility in the chamber is to be an MP. Front benchers are ministers. Interesting that there are 650 MPs, but only about 400 seats, so a lot of standing room only. As for the difference between Labour and Conservative, Labour areas are the more densely populated urban cities and the conservatives tend to represent larger rural areas. Father and mother of the house are simply the longest serving male and female MPs. And another rule, current MPs are not allowed to refer to each other by name. The sceptre on the table is the mace. It's over 500 years old and is always on the table of the house to symbolise that parliament is operational. But believe me, this is about as friendly as it will get over the next 4 to 5 years!

The cabinet is the big table in the middle of the room and back benchers are the chads who like to do bench presses in the corner. They traditionally are used to inspire other MP’s to stay fit and healthy. There’s even a guy who uses a whip and another guy that uses a black rod. But that’s for the more adventurous MP’s.

About "back bench" MPs. "Front bench" MPs are those given senior positions such as minister for health, minister for defence, foreign secretary, minister of education and so on. About 20.of these positions. All other MPs which are the vast majority are back bench MPs.

"Does anyone believe that for a second?" - Yes. They have given every indication of such, the new government is stuffed with experts, and the entire election was about throwing out performative emptiness and giving experts a go again.

Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer who offered legal aid for free to miners during the 80s. He defended people for free when thatcher was trying to prosecute them. Rishi Sunak very proudly said he doesnt have working class friends, asked a homeless man if he runs a business, bragged about redirecting money from poor people to rich people, actuveky tried to break human rights laws by sending people to Rwanda which is an unsafe country. He made sarcastic comments about transgender women while the mother of murdered transgneder girl sat in parliament. He is anything but a good man, fishi rishi i call him.

The Prime Minister (PM) is a front bencher. Back benchers are ordinary MPs without a specific role in the Government. Other front benchers are ministers of state and the deputy prime minister. Opposition MPs with shadow roles are front benchers alongside the leader of the opposition, they sit on the other side of parliament. Most MPs are back benchers. The woman in white behind the PM is the current Deputy PM. The Mother of the House, is the longest female serving MP, the father of the house is the longest male serving MP. This is regardless as to which party they represent. People are standing because when all the MPs are in the House of Commons there are not enough seats for them all! This is because the number of MPs has increased gradually in the years since the House of Commons was built.

7:48 It’s more mixed than that. Wales is now solely Labour, the South East is generally Conservative. The North used to be more Labour, but it doesn’t really help as the ‘seats’ that give an MP a place in Parliament aren’t all equal. Some seats require more votes than others, and some are considered ‘safe’ as in they don’t change allegiance.

6:05 ‘My brain is not working!’ So funny! 😂

MP = member of parliament. PM = prime minister. Back bencher is an MP who is not a minister in government. A minister is chosen by the PM to act for departments such as Home Secretary or education minister.

It's probably northern England especially the North West (Merseyside, Greater Manchester) which mostly has Labour areas.

The inner cities are the usual centres for Labour with working class majorities whereas more rural areas are traditionally Conservative but there are some anomalies and wealthier suburbs that swing as do some inner city constituencies it’s usual to find the conservatives in the south an Labour in the North with Wales Labour and Scotland coming back to Labour

The guy with the wig is The Clerk of the House

Perhaps the US could hold a referendum to see if it could become a British Colony again.

It's a mace. Not a sceptre.

I believe the gentleman wearing the wig is Tom Goldsmith - the Clerk of the House of Commons. He records all decisions of the House and is the ultimate authority over Constitutional questions and procedure. He is seated next to the Clerk Assistant and the Principal Clerk of the Table Office.

Maga - Make América Great Britain Again!😊👍🇬🇧🇺🇸

They treat each other with the utmost respect in the House of Commons. To give each other legitimacy in the publics eyes. And to set an example of how we should also treat them. When in reality, they should be treated with contempt. It's very clever. They've been doing it a long time. Credit where credits due. They haven't been caught yet 😂

Progressive tends to be in cities and big towns, conservative tends to be small towns and rural areas in England