Pugh's View (20th May)
Friday, 20 May 2011
Even my worst enemies wouldn't accuse me of being a 'sycophant'. I am often given to speak my mind in circumstances where wiser and more prudent people would bite their tongue.
Therefore it is without embarrassment that I can reveal that I went out of the way to congratulate my party leader on his recent performance in the Commons chamber. It was the ex-teacher in me wanting to reinforce the right behaviour.
Nick had just introduced a consultation on House of Lords reform. It isn't ever going to be top of the nation's agenda. Most people and all the parties in parliament though believe it should be done and have believed so for decades and there seems no good reason not to try to do it.
Last Tuesday wasn't a great time to do it given everything else going on but the parliamentary timetable has been drawn up months ago and Nick just had to do it. Given House of Lords reform was in the manifesto of all three main parties you might have expected some sensible discussion.
You'd be wrong!
On both sides of the Chamber the more belligerent elements on both sides stood up to rubbish the proposals while quizzing Nick. Not content though with raising spurious difficulties, they generally accompanied their question with some nasty, barbed dig while in the background (not picked up by the TV feed) some individuals kept up tedious, humourless, 'catcalls'.
If you have ever stood on the football terrace next to someone who insisting on accompanying the game with a continuous, unfunny and unconsidered loud rant, you'll get the idea. Nick Clegg on this occasion did not rise to the bait.
He stayed calm under pressure and dealt with each question in turn answering the substance, ignoring the insult often conveyed with it. He praised people in other parties like Robin Cook, Lord Wakeham and Jack Straw who had tried to progress Lord's reform.
Gradually as in football the crowd was quietened, more sensible questions came and the last MP to wrap his insult in a question just ended up sounding feeble.
Afterwards I met at a reception one of the prime offenders - an MP I personally like - and I asked him why he had kept up such a unfunny barrage of pointless jibes. I told him I had sat next to a Whip on my side on another occasion (again a personal friend) who behaved similarly and I told him what I, in exasperation, said on that occasion. I cannot repeat it in a family newspaper.
The MP looked sheepish and said "I'm just bored!"
The ex-teacher in me stirred inside at that point - it’s not an excuse. I moved on and happily met other people over the next day in all parties who agreed that it had been the House of Commons at its worst.
If we were a school though, we might be put in special measures by now.