Black Rod has the door slammed in his face, 2009

[SwordInAir]

Respect to Skinner for not standing up. The monarchy displaying here it's a waste of valuable time as well as money.

[ilikemike2436]

As an American I very much respect the history of this ceremony .

[GCmediacourse]

1:48 you can see the door has been damaged by the rod

[DG6985]

Didn't know Jack Straw was once lord chancellor, and hes my town MP

[MrOhjames]

This guy was really into the role!!

[mbygg1]

that skinner chap really is an oik

[HalfBathBlog]

thats the best knock ive seen in a few years, real solid hits lol

[nrjelley]

Im surprised Huw didn't pick up on the fact that the throne is made of Welsh gold! =)

[tr1ckydr1v3r]

Are they ever gonna repair that bloody damage to the door that the knocking causes every year?

[ChristiaanMurk]

@tr1ckydr1v3r

Probably not.

[nrjelley]

@tr1ckydr1v3r no because it is apart of history and tradition!

[tr1ckydr1v3r]

@nrjelley fair enough, but if they don't do something, then eventually the door will just give way.

[baraxor]

The Palace of Westminster is a Royal Palace, so the House of Commons chamber is not "owned" by its members. However, the right of freedom of debate granted to the Commons by the Monarch (through the Speaker elected at a new Parliament) means that neither the Monarch nor her servants can intrude on the business in the House, which is why the doors are shut to Black Rod...he can't just barge in on their deliberations, even in the name of the Queen.

[prowlifik]

England once matterd in the world, but they no longer have any power on the world stage, they are no more then our BITCH and W showed that when he made tony blair march into Iraq to fight his war. lets not forget when hittler was bombing england and churchill ran to pres. roosevelt on his hands and knees begging him for help keep, the empire has shurk and the old way of doing things has fadded. keep putting on white wigs and bowing down to your queen, that what you guys do best.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

In 2001 the UK supported its friend and ally, but in 1940 the US couldn't care less when the Jews of Europe were being exterminated and democracy was under daily attack. Are you proud of this?

The UK may have lost its dominate place in the world (it happens to all superpowers eventually) but I don't think that is such a great tragedy. The British people are free, our culture is still influential and the language that started in these islands is the default language of the world.

[prowlifik]

@Medeasbiggestfan IAM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, and everybody knows Britain is our lap dog. iam proud that a group of rag tag american malitia defeated the once mighty great britian not once but twice. we americans know that if you bloody the nose of the UK in the first round, they wont come out to fight the secound.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

'...not once but twice'. So the first time was the War of Independence, when was the second time? Surely you don't mean the War of 1812, when the US invaded Canada unprovoked, a war which resulted in US gaining no land and losing its capital city? Do US schools really teach that to be a victory?

[prowlifik]

@Medeasbiggestfan the reason why we invaded canada was because its mother country was was cutting off our maritine trade with the rest of the world and yes it was a victory for us because we where able to achive our goal of restoring our maritine trade with the rest of the world, britain burned the white house occupied washington dc and still lost. look it up, everytime britain has crossed the atlantic with war on its mind we sent them back across limping.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

The UK blocked maritime trade because the US was supporting Napoleon I (the French dictator) with whom the British Empire was at war.

While fighting the US, the UK defeated Napoleon, after which the British didn't care about blocking trade. If there had been no war in the Americas, the UK would have still stopped the blockade in 1814.

The UK lost 5,000 men as a result of the war, the US lost 20,000, not to mention countless slaves who escaped to freedom in Canada and Britain.

[expostfactum]

@Medeasbiggestfan Most people think of the war of 1812 as being a victory because of the battle of New Orleans, where the British were beaten like ugly red headed step children....thing is, that battle occurred after a truce had already been made...It was still an ass whipping like no other!

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@expostfactum

The British destroyed Washington DC and turned back the US invasion of Canada. That sounds like a victory to me.

[ImNannyOgg]

@prowlifik Lol what an idiot you are...everyone except for Americans (my husband excepted, who lives in the Uk and hopes never to return to the US) knows that you are widely regarded as a worldwide joke. You're fed propaganda by your govt which you all willingly believe, poor, poor uneducated people. Controlled and completely brainwashed by the US govt. Wake up and realise how backward you are regarded to be by any developed country..fat, brainwashed and backwards. I feel sorry for you.

[prowlifik]

IAM SO PROUD THAT MY FOUNDING FATHERS GOT ONE THING RIGHT, ALLL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. I SEE THAT'S NOT THE CASE IN ENGLAND, I ALSO NTICE THERE ARE NO MINORITYS IN THE CROWD. HMMMM

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

People in the UK are treated equal. The founding fathers of the US may have said all men are created equal, but that didn't stop them from enslaving black people. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, black people in southern states didn't have equal rights until the 1960s. There has never been racial segregation in the UK.

Also, there are many people from ethnic minorities in Parliament, you're just not looking hard enough. Remember, the UK is 90% white.

[prowlifik]

@Medeasbiggestfan some how i know the issue of slavery was going to come up. let me remind you it was the BRTISH who introduced the slave trade to the colonial americans, and britian stoped its slave trade in 1833 only 33 years before we did. incase you didnt notice we have a Black american president and you guys dont even have a minority memeber in the royal family (hmmm think about that for a secound) England is racist and always has been.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

You say 'only 33 years' before the Emancipation Proclamation, but that was an entire generation of people who didn't have freedom. For those years you had a situation where black people were escaping from the 'land of the free' to the British Empire.

There are minority members in the Royal Family, Gary and Senna Lewis are the most recent.

The US having a black President doesn't mean the UK racist. The UK has had a woman Prime Minister, does that mean the US is sexist?

[prowlifik]

@Medeasbiggestfan everybody knows the us is far from sexist. we are the land of opportunity i dont think britain can say the same.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@prowlifik

Everybody knows the UK has a far more tolerant society than the US.

[expostfactum]

@Medeasbiggestfan yes they do...and they are starting to really regret that now with whats going on over there.

[SuperTrekNerd]

@prowlifik We had a Jewish Prime Minister in 1868, and a female head of state in 1141. How many Jewish or female Presidents of the United States have there been?

[ImNannyOgg]

@prowlifik Further to my last post, my American husband laughed out loud at this comment. I've never seen such an unequal society as the States, soo many people in genuine slums and poverty, houses made out of clapboard that fall down at the slightest wind, US flags everywhere...are you so insecure that you all need to keep reminding yourselves 'yes, we ARE proud Americans' just in case you forget. As they say, slap the word American on the front of a product and the suckers will fall for it LOL

[brianclough]

Dennis Skinner's quips are as much an institution and custom as Black Rod's 3 knocks for admission into the Commons.

[galenct]

the house of lords should be equal to the house of commons.

[TheSkateShack]

fascinating. and im not even old enough to vote.

[79jethro]

A pointless and stupid exercise! This might have meant something hundreds of years ago but now there's no point.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@79jethro

There is an important point to it. We should remember what happen in the past, the sacrifices and risks our ancestors endured to make sure we have a democratic and free system of government today. Tradition is a way of making sure this is never forgotten.

[79jethro]

@Medeasbiggestfan You must live on Mars if you honestly believe Britain is democratic - look a Gordon Brown. How can he be PM when he wasn't elected? John Prescott keeps a job in Government when he was having sex with one of his staffers! No-one can protest within a few miles of Downing Street! And finally the House of Lords is a cesspool of unelected morons - and yet they have some say on British laws!

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@79jethro

The UK is a Parliamentary democracy. The people elected the Commons and the Commons elect the PM. That is how our system works, it is not perfect but it is a lot better than other systems around the world.

The Lords cannot block laws passed by the Commons, and Lords amendments have to be agreed to by the Commons.

You can protest outside Downing St. I was by there just two weeks ago and there were many protesters on Whitehall, opposite Parliament and at the gates of Downing St.

[79jethro]

@Medeasbiggestfan But you miss the fundamental point - how can someone become PM without being elected? And as far as voting goes the PM can all an election whenever he feels like it! And once more we have no written constitution like the US that sets out the lines on which laws are made - here the government goes mad by creating stupid laws and creating so much red tape people screw the consequences and break the law anyway! Britain's political system is repulsive!

[79jethro]

@Medeasbiggestfan I just want to add the Queen's told what to say in the speech so she has absolutely no say in what happens to Britain. If Britain as you claim is democratic, the Queen should be allowed to freely criticise/commend the government running the country! Afterall she is the Queen!

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@79jethro

We don't elect the Prime Minister, we elect the Commons. The Commons holds the PM and government to account and can remove a government from power. This is far better than the US system where the President is not accountable to the legislature. There are plenty of stupid laws which have been passed by the US Congress.

You think the UK would be more democratic if the unelected head of state had more power?

[79jethro]

@Medeasbiggestfan You must be a stand-up comedian because the Commons doesn't hold the government to account - Iraq, rising violent crime, wasteful spending etc. The US system is far better - as a voter you directly elect the President, Senator and Representative. Here you may like your MP but the leader of your MPs party might be an idiot so you're stuck in how to vote! The most stupid law that's been passed in the Human Rights Act so don't critcise America's laws!

[79jethro]

@Medeasbiggestfan And if you want to talk about accountable behaviour of Presidents look at Clinton when he was caught having an affair - he was rightly impeached. But John Prescott got off with a slap on the wrist when he was caught!

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@79jethro

The Parliamentary system is far better than a presidential system. Out of the top ten most democratic nations in the world, 9 are Parliamentary systems and none have presidential systems.

Just look at former British colonies (which mainly became Parliamentary democracies after independence) and have stable politics. Compare them to former Iberian colonies (which mainly became presidential democracies after independence) and have a history of military dictatorship.

[Nosmos]

Listen to Dennis Skinner saying bugger off to Black Rod and the monarchy as the Commons doors open!!! Hilarious!

[kanenkitten]

That's not Dennis Skinner, that's the speaker of the house and he's not saying b****r off, he's saying "close the door"

[histre101]

It's a woman that says "close the door"...doesn't sound like John Berchow to me??

[kanenkitten]

@histre101: Oh then that's the assistant speaker.

[324wilson]

"Royal expenses are on the way"?

I think MPs should take care of their own expenses then about royals. Monarchy costs us nothing more than 69p and make us billions out of tourism and crown estates!

[hamlit00]

so no tourists would visit Britain ever again if we were to become a republic. A democratically elected head of state and upper house of parliament is basic to true demopcracy, which we are being denied by having a monrach

[324wilson]

Well, it's not only tourism. It's also Crown Estates. Since 1760 we, the people, have cut an annual deal with each monarch: we vote the crowned head a Civil List an annual allowance) and the monarch passes over to the people the income from the Crown Estates. Last year the monarchy cost £46million: the Crown Estates made us at least £250million. We made a profit of millions out of the monarchy.The Italian presidency costs each person almost double at £1.24.........................­.

[324wilson]

...We get the most famous woman in the world. All together now - who is Italys President? Im afraid its either a dignified, dutiful, constitutional monarch (Elizabeth II): an executive president two-thirds of the electorate cant stand (take your pick): or a charming a charming nonentity called Giorgio Napolitano. We Brits do pretty well you know. As far as for appointed upper chamber, we can get rid of it without abolishing the monarchy....................

[324wilson]

...I would like to know will the president appointed or elected? If appointed, what's the difference and if elected, why to waste millions of pounds for something that is working remarkably well? Let me remind you, India, Pakistan, I don't think I have to tell you all other un-democratic republics! India is called the world's largest democracy, is that country really democratic?...........

[324wilson]

...I have also studied Indian politics; so, let me tell you, starting from Nehru, then Indira Gandhi then Rajiv Gandhi then Sonia Gandhi now, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi! IS THAT DEMOCRACY??? Then we move to Pakistan, Bhutto family! Then USA, Bush family! I've just heard that Bush's brother is coming to politics now! In coming years, who knows, probably Obama's daughters will enter the politics! Not to mention, American Royal Family - The Kennedys!!!

We have the great system, why to change it?

[hamlit00]

India and Pakistan are one-offs un-democratic republics but that could not possibly happen in a civilised western society- and ofcourse we should have a democratically elected head of state- look at the successes in Germany and Italy (even if Napolitano isn't famous- which he is, in Italy (but Elizabeth II isn't recognised religiously elsewhere but Britain) it is still a fair system) power to make war and sign treaties should come from a representative from the masses, not hereditary

[324wilson]

That's only India and Pakistan. What about America then? I am not saying that republican gov't doesn't work. All I am saying is that in some countries it works and in some it doesn't (we tried before but didnt liked it) and why to tamper with the system that has been serving us for 1000 years. I travel around the world (currently I am in Canada) and whenever I say that I am from Britain, people always ask me about the Queen. That's how popular she is around the world............

[324wilson]

...That may be is because of her position as the head of the commonwealth or because she has been head of state for about 59 years. We have a constitutional monarchy, where the Queen reigns but doesnt rule. So, power to make war and sign treaties is the govt decision not the monarchs. The Queen serves as the power and symbol of state. The symbol of continutiy and stabilty in ever changing world...........

[324wilson]

...More importantly, as Sir Winston Churchill said so eloquently, the power of the monarchy is not that which it holds for itself but that which it prevents others from assuming. How true! By the way, dont think that the Queen just plays with corgis and drinks tea everyday. She works very hard and if you want to know what precisely she does, I can tell you that! Do you really want us to end up like America with an all-powerful president who has the constitutional right to veto legislation?.....

[Durwood71]

@324wilson Calling the US president "all-powerful" only displays your ignorance. His ability to veto is hardly absolute and can be overturned. We have this thing in America called "checks and balances" that prevents any one branch of government from acquiring too much power.

[DreadLaw2]

@Durwood71 Lol, someone should have mentioned that to Lincoln about the time he was throwing elected politicians in Military holdings without trial, suspending habeous corpus and interfeering with the free press. How exactly do your checks and balances stop the man with the power to head and command the most powerful military in the force from doing whatever he feels? Oh yeah, it doesn't, every President has progressed against the constitution and collected more power for himself.

[324wilson]

...There is no BETTER way that I know of, in terms of the management and running of our country, than that which we already have. As Charles II once said, "My words are my own; my deeds are my ministers."

[324wilson]

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!

[BRUTUALTRUTH]

This is so outdated! It is like an annual meeting of penguins and Santa clauses! Don't they realize idiotic they look? It is painful to look at!

[Medeasbiggestfan]

It symbolises the structure of government in the UK!

[cultofdagon]

@Medeasbiggestfan That doesn't make it any less ridiculous.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@cultofdagon It means it's important to carry on the tradition.

[cultofdagon]

@Medeasbiggestfan I disagree. Yes, it's very quaint, but do we really need such a daft tradition to symbolise the structure of government? It is possible to understand the structure of UK government without this elaborate piece of theatre. I say modernise and leave this ludicrous performance where it belongs... The past.

[Medeasbiggestfan]

@cultofdagon It is important to remember what happen in the past, the sacrifices and risks our ancestors endured to make sure we have a democratic and free system of government today. Tradition is a way of making sure this is never forgotten.

[BryanAJParry]

@cultofdagon

People like you would have us open proceedings in a bland office board room. This tradition is not daft, it is glorious.

[bjr43]

Huh. Wouldn't doing something like this be insulting?

[Medeasbiggestfan]

It symbolises the supremacy of the elected House of Commons over the unelected monarch.

[wftjet]

It started for a good reason. King Charles I attempted to have several members of Parliament arrested in 1642, which the House of Commons took offense to. So the door slamming is a way of the Commons saying they are akways suspicious of the monarch's intentions in entering (or sending their representative) into the Commons.