New Prime Minister David Cameron showed American presidents and the previous Labour administration a thing or two when it comes to travelling from one place to another.
As the new-look Parliament convened for the first time since the General Election, Cameron decided to walk to the Palace of Westminster, ditching his Prime Ministerial Jaguar and his police outriders.
Gordon Brown and Tony Blair had been escorted by up to six motorcycle outriders who swept him through traffic, holding up other drivers and buses in a motorcade almost in the style of the over-the-top and obstructive security seen escorting US presidents. 10 Downing Street declared that it was an "ostentation" to be sped through the traffic by police outriders.
Cameron may be Prime Minister, but he's Prime Minister of a reserved country - walking the streets to the Palace of Westminster, members of the public hardly seemed to notice him. That's not something you can imagine happening to a US president walking around, say, New York.
As the MPs took their seats, it was interesting to see the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, who are both in power as a coalition, being intermingled on the Commons benches, with Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg sitting next to Cameron.
The Government traditionally sits on the right hand side of the Speaker's Chair. It is the first time the Tories have sat there since 1997 and many decades since the old Liberal Party (known as the Liberal Democrats since 1988 and once known as the Whigs) sat there. This is despite the fact that the Liberal Democrats are the oldest British political party in existence.
Due to Britain now having a coalition government it means that, out of the three main parties, there is only one opposition party (Labour) when there are usually two.
The election also brought about the biggest number of new MPs since 1945.
More than a third of MPs - 226 of the new 650-seat chamber - are fresh faces in Parliament after the expenses scandal prompted the biggest exodus in living memory. Yesterday, as they all entered the gothic-style Palace of Westminster, it must have felt like their first day at Hogwarts.
The opening of the new Parliament was accompanied by all the usual pomp and ceremony. However, the Queen wasn't able to attend and Black Rod didn't attend as he is seriously ill.
Proceedings began with the Commons being ceremonially summoned to the House of Lords, where the Lower House was instructed to elect a Speaker.
They had to be led there by a deputy to Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers, after he fell seriously ill in his Westminster flat. Colleagues said he had had a multiple stroke.
Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman were at the head of a handful of MPs led by Yeoman Usher Ted Lloyd-Jukes to the Upper House.
Electing a Speaker is the only job MPs can do before they are officially sworn in. Sir Peter Tapsell, the new Father of the House, kicked off the process before Mr Bercow gave a brief address.
Bercow was then overwhemingly re-elected as the speaker (after speeches by a couple of MPs saying why they think he should be re-elected) and, in one of the many bizarre traditions that are seen in Britain, he was dragged to the Speaker's Chair by a couple of MPs, in a ceremony that harks back to the time when, hundreds of years ago, being Speaker was something many MPs didn't want to do, as Speakers were often beheaded.
It was also announced yesterday that the new Labour leader, and therefore Leader of the Opposition, will be announced on 25th September. David Miliband is the favourite to take that role. Also in the running is David's brother Ed, left-winger John McDonnell and Ed Balls. Harriet "Harperson" Harman is the acting leader.
Who needs an armoured limo? David Cameron strolls down Whitehall to take his seat in Parliament as Prime Minister
By Daily Mail Reporter
19th May 2010
Daily Mail
It was a warm sunny day, so the new PM decided ditch his stuffy Jaguar and walk the few hundred yards from his new home in Downing Street to the Palace of Westminster.
Just days after he worried police by getting rid of his motorbike outriders, Mr Cameron took to Whitehall with just a couple of bodyguards for protection.
Face in the crowd: David Cameron walks to the Commons yesterday as Parliament reconvened after the Election break. The public all around him hardly seemed to notice.
Carrying nothing more than a folder with some papers, he was almost lost in the throng of tourists.
It isn't the first time the new Prime Minister has decided to walk to appointments - last week he hoofed over to the DTI to welcome Vince Cable to his new job as Business Secretary.
The move by the new Prime Minister was not officially announced, but No.10 sources said it was an 'ostentation' to be sped through the traffic by police escort.
Mr Cameron's decision was questioned by security experts and was in sharp contrast to the previous Labour administration.
Gordon Brown - and Tony Blair before him - had been escorted by up to six motorcycle outriders who swept him through traffic, holding up other drivers and buses in an American-style motorcade.
Free and open: The new Prime Minister's security was kept to an absolute minimum as he strolled down Whitehall yesterday before the start of the new Parliament
Mr Cameron and Nick Clegg sat side-by-side as the new coalition Government took its place in the House of Commons for the first time.
The re-shaped political landscape was on physical display as Labour MPs made way for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats after 13 years in power.
More than a third of MPs - 226 of the new 650-seat chamber - are fresh faces in Parliament after the expenses scandal prompted the biggest exodus in living memory.
They pressed ahead to re-elect John Bercow as their Speaker, which was waved through instead of going to a vote despite several MPs taking the highly unusual step of shouting out their dissent.
In an early sign of trouble ahead, Mr Cameron came under fire over his plans to make dissolution impossible unless 55 per cent of MPs vote in favour. The move was dubbed the 'Mugabe question'.
"How long must I pretend to like this Clegg chappie?": David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the House of Commons yesterday
Packed: The House of Commons yesterday as it convened for the first time since the General Election
There are growing mumblings about the prospect of five-year Parliaments, which were a key plank of the coalition deal hammered out by the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
Governments can usually be toppled by a simple vote of no confidence with a majority of one but it was agreed this should change so that neither side can cut and run to force another election.
It was decided a binding resolution should be brought in allowing for dissolution only when 55 per cent of MPs agree, prompting claims it could result in a 'zombie' Parliament.
Labour's Jim Sheridan asked: 'What is the criteria required to support any such move, such as the 55% the Government wish to embrace, thereby known as the Mugabe question?'
Father of the House Sir Peter Tapsell said it was not a point of order for him to deal with but 'the House will have other opportunities to debate these matters'.
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett also attacked the new Government, noting it had not told the Commons first before making announcements about the voting system, Lords reform, spending cuts and how to dissolve Parliament.
Re-elected: John Bercow is back as Commons Speaker
He told Mr Bercow: 'We look forward to you defending our interests as backbenchers from whichever party but we look forward most of all to you being able to reassert the ideas that were promoted before the last General Election that we should not be engaged in fixes; we should not have the old caballing; that we should have open, honest, forthright debate; and that parliamentarians should genuinely be able to hold this new coalition to account.'
Mr Cameron's earlier walk to the Commons from Downing Street was yet another indication that he wants to behave differently to previous Prime Ministers.
The new Prime Minister - the youngest since 1812 - was applauded by his own side as he took his position on the front bench alongside his former rival and now Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg.
It is the first time the Tories have been to the right of the speaker's chair since 1997 and many decades since the old Liberal Party were there.
Mr Cameron has only ever sat on the Opposition benches, having entered the Commons for the first time in 2001.
The shape and dynamic of the new Commons is dramatically difference because there is no 'third party'.
The frontbench is now a mix of Tory and Lib Dem ministers in a reflection that the Government is a coalition for the first time since the Second World War.
Conservative MPs are sitting behind Mr Cameron with Lib Dem backbenchers further to the left, past the main gangway on the government side.
The Demservatives: Tories and the Lib Dems now sit on the same side, occupying the Government benches. 1. Sir Ming Campbell (Lib Dem; formally the party's leader) 2. Patrick McLoughlin (Tory; Chief Whip) 3. Sir George Young, 6th Baronet (Tory; Leader of the House of Commons ) 4. William Hague (Tory; Foreign Secretary) 5. David Cameron (Tory; Prime Minister) 6. Nick Clegg (Lib Dem; Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader) 7. Theresa May (Tory; Home Secretary) 8. Vince Cable (Lib Dem; Business Secretary) 9. Ken Clarke (Tory; Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary) 10. Caroline Spelman (Tory; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 11. Philip Hammond (Tory; Transport Secretary) 12. Cheryl Gillan (Tory; Welsh Secretary) 13. David Willetts (Tory; Science Minister) 14. Iain Duncan Smith (Tory; Work and Pensions Secretary) 15. Danny Alexander (Lib Dem; Scottish Secretary)
Further down the Government benches, Sir Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader, took the spot that used to be occupied by Labour's Dennis Skinner who was renowned for heckling the Opposition.
New Tory MP Zac Goldsmith was among the newly-elected MPs unable to find a seat who ended up standing beside the walkway near the Speaker's chair.
Proceedings began with the Commons being ceremonially summoned to the House of Lords, where the Lower House was instructed to elect a speaker.
They had to be led there by a deputy to Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers, after he fell seriously ill in his Westminster flat. Colleagues said he had had a multiple stroke.
Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman were at the head of a handful of MPs led by Yeoman Usher Ted Lloyd-Jukes to the Upper House.
Electing a speaker is the only job MPs can do before they are officially sworn in. Sir Peter, the new Father of the House, kicked off the process before Mr Bercow gave a brief address.
The MP said: 'It was a privilege to serve as speaker for the past 10 months and it would be an honour to serve again for this Parliament.'
He pledged to defend the rights of backbenchers to hold the Government to account and to 'champion the causes dear to their hearts'.
'For better or for worse, I have become known for insisting on short questions and short answers,' he told MPs. 'Sometimes a short speech is also appropriate so I shall leave it there in order to demonstrate that once in a while at least I do practice what I preach.'
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Tory MP for Kensington, then proposed him to take the plum role again in a relatively lengthy speech.
Down to business: Mr Cameron chairs the 'Big Society' meeting next to Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh in the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street yesterday
He revealed that he had not voted for the Tory in the contest last year, backing Sir George Young instead, but had been won round.
'I like many others have had the opportunity with an open mind to see the hon gentleman act as speaker over the last 10 months and I have been impressed,' he said.
He hailed Mr Bercow as a 'champion of the backbenches', declaring him 'spendidly robust at intervening' and a 'modern speaker for a modern age'.
The number of 'ayes' clearly outweighed his opponents but there were some shouts of 'nay!' when the question was put by Sir Peter.
It is highly unusual for the Speaker to be challenged but Sir Peter pressed ahead, insisting again despite murmurs from the benches that the 'ayes have it' and refusing to call a formal division.
Mr Bercow, whose wife Sally was watching from the public gallery, was then 'dragged' from the Tory backbenches to the Speaker's large green chair.
He said: 'I am aware it is the greatest honour it can give to any of its members. I pray that I will justify its continued confidence. I will do all within my power to cherish its best traditions.'
Critics of Mr Bercow were angry that his position had not been put to a vote. Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who this weekend had openly challenged Mr Bercow, said the issue had been 'fudged through'.
'He was voted as speaker by a block Labour vote. He needs the support of all parties in the house. He needs everybody to support him. It would have been good for him today to have a vote,' she said.
Enlarge
Girl power: Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman with female Labour MPs outside Parliament yesterday
Statements: Home Secretary Theresa May at Number 10 and, right, David Cameron's advisor Camila Batmanghelidjh arriving at Westminster
Mr Cameron congratulated Mr Bercow on his re-appointment and joked that there were times during the Election when he was 'a little concerned about your safe return to Parliament'.
'I'm glad to see that the mostly Conservative-inclined voters of Buckingham stuck with you,' he said. 'And I hope there won't be too much family strife if I welcome the fact that similarly-inclined voters in St James ward in the London borough of Westminster did the same thing.'
Mrs Bercow, who lost her bid to be a Labour councillor on May 6, laughed in the gallery at the comment.
The Prime Minister then welcomed all the new MPs to the Commons and hailed the moment as a 'new era for our politics' and the 'chance for a new generation to show just how good this place can be'.
Seriously ill: Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers
He said: 'There will be new challenges, not least with the first coalition government in 65 years. And with 232 new Members of Parliament, this will very much be a new Parliament.
'We have 72 new women MPs and 16 new MPs from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and I'm glad that my party played its part in this result. It really does look and feel different. Indeed many of us are sitting next to people that we've never sat next to before.'
Mr Clegg, from his position on the front bench, smiled at the remark as MPs laughed.
Mr Cameron said the 'real tests' of the new Parliament was to rebuild public trust and make the 'right decisions'. 'It's within our gift to do this and it's our responsibility to make sure we do,' he said.
'I believe we can end the chronic short-termism of the past, we can put national interest ahead of party interest, we can work together to find solutions to the profound problems facing our nation.
'Mr Speaker-elect, you preside over a new Parliament and we should all be determined to take our country in a historic new direction.'
Harriet Harman congratulated Mr Bercow and then Mr Cameron. She told the Prime Minister: 'You have an awesome and a heavy responsibility.
'We all agree that we need strong and stable government. But we also should agree that we need strong Opposition.'
To Labour cheers, she added: 'We will be a strong, effective, self-confident and determined Opposition, holding this Government to account.'
The swearing in of all MPs will now start this afternoon.
dailymail.co.uk
As the new-look Parliament convened for the first time since the General Election, Cameron decided to walk to the Palace of Westminster, ditching his Prime Ministerial Jaguar and his police outriders.
Gordon Brown and Tony Blair had been escorted by up to six motorcycle outriders who swept him through traffic, holding up other drivers and buses in a motorcade almost in the style of the over-the-top and obstructive security seen escorting US presidents. 10 Downing Street declared that it was an "ostentation" to be sped through the traffic by police outriders.
Cameron may be Prime Minister, but he's Prime Minister of a reserved country - walking the streets to the Palace of Westminster, members of the public hardly seemed to notice him. That's not something you can imagine happening to a US president walking around, say, New York.
As the MPs took their seats, it was interesting to see the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, who are both in power as a coalition, being intermingled on the Commons benches, with Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg sitting next to Cameron.
The Government traditionally sits on the right hand side of the Speaker's Chair. It is the first time the Tories have sat there since 1997 and many decades since the old Liberal Party (known as the Liberal Democrats since 1988 and once known as the Whigs) sat there. This is despite the fact that the Liberal Democrats are the oldest British political party in existence.
Due to Britain now having a coalition government it means that, out of the three main parties, there is only one opposition party (Labour) when there are usually two.
The election also brought about the biggest number of new MPs since 1945.
More than a third of MPs - 226 of the new 650-seat chamber - are fresh faces in Parliament after the expenses scandal prompted the biggest exodus in living memory. Yesterday, as they all entered the gothic-style Palace of Westminster, it must have felt like their first day at Hogwarts.
The opening of the new Parliament was accompanied by all the usual pomp and ceremony. However, the Queen wasn't able to attend and Black Rod didn't attend as he is seriously ill.
Proceedings began with the Commons being ceremonially summoned to the House of Lords, where the Lower House was instructed to elect a Speaker.
They had to be led there by a deputy to Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers, after he fell seriously ill in his Westminster flat. Colleagues said he had had a multiple stroke.
Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman were at the head of a handful of MPs led by Yeoman Usher Ted Lloyd-Jukes to the Upper House.
Electing a Speaker is the only job MPs can do before they are officially sworn in. Sir Peter Tapsell, the new Father of the House, kicked off the process before Mr Bercow gave a brief address.
Bercow was then overwhemingly re-elected as the speaker (after speeches by a couple of MPs saying why they think he should be re-elected) and, in one of the many bizarre traditions that are seen in Britain, he was dragged to the Speaker's Chair by a couple of MPs, in a ceremony that harks back to the time when, hundreds of years ago, being Speaker was something many MPs didn't want to do, as Speakers were often beheaded.
It was also announced yesterday that the new Labour leader, and therefore Leader of the Opposition, will be announced on 25th September. David Miliband is the favourite to take that role. Also in the running is David's brother Ed, left-winger John McDonnell and Ed Balls. Harriet "Harperson" Harman is the acting leader.
Who needs an armoured limo? David Cameron strolls down Whitehall to take his seat in Parliament as Prime Minister
By Daily Mail Reporter
19th May 2010
Daily Mail
- Cameron applauded as he takes his place next to Clegg
- Bercow re-elected as Speaker despite some MPs' dissent
- 55% no confidence vote is dubbed 'Mugabe question'
- Black Rod misses ceremony after falling seriously ill
It was a warm sunny day, so the new PM decided ditch his stuffy Jaguar and walk the few hundred yards from his new home in Downing Street to the Palace of Westminster.
Just days after he worried police by getting rid of his motorbike outriders, Mr Cameron took to Whitehall with just a couple of bodyguards for protection.
Face in the crowd: David Cameron walks to the Commons yesterday as Parliament reconvened after the Election break. The public all around him hardly seemed to notice.
Carrying nothing more than a folder with some papers, he was almost lost in the throng of tourists.
It isn't the first time the new Prime Minister has decided to walk to appointments - last week he hoofed over to the DTI to welcome Vince Cable to his new job as Business Secretary.
The move by the new Prime Minister was not officially announced, but No.10 sources said it was an 'ostentation' to be sped through the traffic by police escort.
Mr Cameron's decision was questioned by security experts and was in sharp contrast to the previous Labour administration.
Gordon Brown - and Tony Blair before him - had been escorted by up to six motorcycle outriders who swept him through traffic, holding up other drivers and buses in an American-style motorcade.
Free and open: The new Prime Minister's security was kept to an absolute minimum as he strolled down Whitehall yesterday before the start of the new Parliament
Mr Cameron and Nick Clegg sat side-by-side as the new coalition Government took its place in the House of Commons for the first time.
The re-shaped political landscape was on physical display as Labour MPs made way for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats after 13 years in power.
More than a third of MPs - 226 of the new 650-seat chamber - are fresh faces in Parliament after the expenses scandal prompted the biggest exodus in living memory.
They pressed ahead to re-elect John Bercow as their Speaker, which was waved through instead of going to a vote despite several MPs taking the highly unusual step of shouting out their dissent.
In an early sign of trouble ahead, Mr Cameron came under fire over his plans to make dissolution impossible unless 55 per cent of MPs vote in favour. The move was dubbed the 'Mugabe question'.
"How long must I pretend to like this Clegg chappie?": David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the House of Commons yesterday
Packed: The House of Commons yesterday as it convened for the first time since the General Election
There are growing mumblings about the prospect of five-year Parliaments, which were a key plank of the coalition deal hammered out by the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
Governments can usually be toppled by a simple vote of no confidence with a majority of one but it was agreed this should change so that neither side can cut and run to force another election.
It was decided a binding resolution should be brought in allowing for dissolution only when 55 per cent of MPs agree, prompting claims it could result in a 'zombie' Parliament.
Labour's Jim Sheridan asked: 'What is the criteria required to support any such move, such as the 55% the Government wish to embrace, thereby known as the Mugabe question?'
Father of the House Sir Peter Tapsell said it was not a point of order for him to deal with but 'the House will have other opportunities to debate these matters'.
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett also attacked the new Government, noting it had not told the Commons first before making announcements about the voting system, Lords reform, spending cuts and how to dissolve Parliament.
Re-elected: John Bercow is back as Commons Speaker
He told Mr Bercow: 'We look forward to you defending our interests as backbenchers from whichever party but we look forward most of all to you being able to reassert the ideas that were promoted before the last General Election that we should not be engaged in fixes; we should not have the old caballing; that we should have open, honest, forthright debate; and that parliamentarians should genuinely be able to hold this new coalition to account.'
Mr Cameron's earlier walk to the Commons from Downing Street was yet another indication that he wants to behave differently to previous Prime Ministers.
The new Prime Minister - the youngest since 1812 - was applauded by his own side as he took his position on the front bench alongside his former rival and now Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg.
It is the first time the Tories have been to the right of the speaker's chair since 1997 and many decades since the old Liberal Party were there.
Mr Cameron has only ever sat on the Opposition benches, having entered the Commons for the first time in 2001.
The shape and dynamic of the new Commons is dramatically difference because there is no 'third party'.
The frontbench is now a mix of Tory and Lib Dem ministers in a reflection that the Government is a coalition for the first time since the Second World War.
Conservative MPs are sitting behind Mr Cameron with Lib Dem backbenchers further to the left, past the main gangway on the government side.
The Demservatives: Tories and the Lib Dems now sit on the same side, occupying the Government benches. 1. Sir Ming Campbell (Lib Dem; formally the party's leader) 2. Patrick McLoughlin (Tory; Chief Whip) 3. Sir George Young, 6th Baronet (Tory; Leader of the House of Commons ) 4. William Hague (Tory; Foreign Secretary) 5. David Cameron (Tory; Prime Minister) 6. Nick Clegg (Lib Dem; Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader) 7. Theresa May (Tory; Home Secretary) 8. Vince Cable (Lib Dem; Business Secretary) 9. Ken Clarke (Tory; Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary) 10. Caroline Spelman (Tory; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 11. Philip Hammond (Tory; Transport Secretary) 12. Cheryl Gillan (Tory; Welsh Secretary) 13. David Willetts (Tory; Science Minister) 14. Iain Duncan Smith (Tory; Work and Pensions Secretary) 15. Danny Alexander (Lib Dem; Scottish Secretary)
Further down the Government benches, Sir Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader, took the spot that used to be occupied by Labour's Dennis Skinner who was renowned for heckling the Opposition.
New Tory MP Zac Goldsmith was among the newly-elected MPs unable to find a seat who ended up standing beside the walkway near the Speaker's chair.
Proceedings began with the Commons being ceremonially summoned to the House of Lords, where the Lower House was instructed to elect a speaker.
They had to be led there by a deputy to Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers, after he fell seriously ill in his Westminster flat. Colleagues said he had had a multiple stroke.
Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman were at the head of a handful of MPs led by Yeoman Usher Ted Lloyd-Jukes to the Upper House.
Electing a speaker is the only job MPs can do before they are officially sworn in. Sir Peter, the new Father of the House, kicked off the process before Mr Bercow gave a brief address.
The MP said: 'It was a privilege to serve as speaker for the past 10 months and it would be an honour to serve again for this Parliament.'
He pledged to defend the rights of backbenchers to hold the Government to account and to 'champion the causes dear to their hearts'.
'For better or for worse, I have become known for insisting on short questions and short answers,' he told MPs. 'Sometimes a short speech is also appropriate so I shall leave it there in order to demonstrate that once in a while at least I do practice what I preach.'
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Tory MP for Kensington, then proposed him to take the plum role again in a relatively lengthy speech.
Down to business: Mr Cameron chairs the 'Big Society' meeting next to Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh in the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street yesterday
He revealed that he had not voted for the Tory in the contest last year, backing Sir George Young instead, but had been won round.
'I like many others have had the opportunity with an open mind to see the hon gentleman act as speaker over the last 10 months and I have been impressed,' he said.
He hailed Mr Bercow as a 'champion of the backbenches', declaring him 'spendidly robust at intervening' and a 'modern speaker for a modern age'.
The number of 'ayes' clearly outweighed his opponents but there were some shouts of 'nay!' when the question was put by Sir Peter.
It is highly unusual for the Speaker to be challenged but Sir Peter pressed ahead, insisting again despite murmurs from the benches that the 'ayes have it' and refusing to call a formal division.
Mr Bercow, whose wife Sally was watching from the public gallery, was then 'dragged' from the Tory backbenches to the Speaker's large green chair.
He said: 'I am aware it is the greatest honour it can give to any of its members. I pray that I will justify its continued confidence. I will do all within my power to cherish its best traditions.'
Critics of Mr Bercow were angry that his position had not been put to a vote. Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who this weekend had openly challenged Mr Bercow, said the issue had been 'fudged through'.
'He was voted as speaker by a block Labour vote. He needs the support of all parties in the house. He needs everybody to support him. It would have been good for him today to have a vote,' she said.
Enlarge
Girl power: Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman with female Labour MPs outside Parliament yesterday
Statements: Home Secretary Theresa May at Number 10 and, right, David Cameron's advisor Camila Batmanghelidjh arriving at Westminster
Mr Cameron congratulated Mr Bercow on his re-appointment and joked that there were times during the Election when he was 'a little concerned about your safe return to Parliament'.
'I'm glad to see that the mostly Conservative-inclined voters of Buckingham stuck with you,' he said. 'And I hope there won't be too much family strife if I welcome the fact that similarly-inclined voters in St James ward in the London borough of Westminster did the same thing.'
Mrs Bercow, who lost her bid to be a Labour councillor on May 6, laughed in the gallery at the comment.
The Prime Minister then welcomed all the new MPs to the Commons and hailed the moment as a 'new era for our politics' and the 'chance for a new generation to show just how good this place can be'.
Seriously ill: Black Rod, Lieutenant-General Sir Freddie Viggers
He said: 'There will be new challenges, not least with the first coalition government in 65 years. And with 232 new Members of Parliament, this will very much be a new Parliament.
'We have 72 new women MPs and 16 new MPs from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and I'm glad that my party played its part in this result. It really does look and feel different. Indeed many of us are sitting next to people that we've never sat next to before.'
Mr Clegg, from his position on the front bench, smiled at the remark as MPs laughed.
Mr Cameron said the 'real tests' of the new Parliament was to rebuild public trust and make the 'right decisions'. 'It's within our gift to do this and it's our responsibility to make sure we do,' he said.
'I believe we can end the chronic short-termism of the past, we can put national interest ahead of party interest, we can work together to find solutions to the profound problems facing our nation.
'Mr Speaker-elect, you preside over a new Parliament and we should all be determined to take our country in a historic new direction.'
Harriet Harman congratulated Mr Bercow and then Mr Cameron. She told the Prime Minister: 'You have an awesome and a heavy responsibility.
'We all agree that we need strong and stable government. But we also should agree that we need strong Opposition.'
To Labour cheers, she added: 'We will be a strong, effective, self-confident and determined Opposition, holding this Government to account.'
The swearing in of all MPs will now start this afternoon.
dailymail.co.uk
Last edited:
