Working through the holidays.

Working through the holidays

Are we in danger of being hoisted with our own petard. The clock is ticking but the House of Commons is announcing that it will soon quit for Christmas and won't be back before the 7th of January, then they rise again on the 14th of February and return on the 25th of February and all this whilst Rome burns. It seems that history must repeat its self and yet in the real world the world of train maintenance or the builders of projects such as Cross Rail who have gangs of workmen out working in all weathers the concept of having a break when a deadline is approaching is not on. Could you imagine BT or British Gas informing us that they were off swanning it on holiday when the trench to your front door was halfway across the driveway. The most important political question of the last 50 years remains unanswered and their eyes are on a break. Of course it could be argued that they, the politicians are not needed and it's the work of the Civil Servants who negotiate the deals. And yet perhaps, to keep up appearances the Prime Minister along with her other Ministers still make the political choices and the Brexit withdrawal agreement, especially the Irish backstop arrangement  is fundamentally political. 

I would, to use the Speakers prerogative when the MPs vote, cry "lock the doors". Perhaps locking the members in to thrash it all out until exhaustion draws a conclusion wouldn't be a bad idea.

The idea that, through your school you are destined to find work in what we call the Establishment, which includes the Parliament and that having been established  that your role in life is already destined there not much else to swot up on other than the obligatory trip into the Chamber to ask one of those questions which will inevitably be batted away into the long grass. The outcomes of the Parliamentary System are academic except for a few idealists, the exercise of bouncing up and down trying to catch the Speakers eye can be seen as an alternative to the gym and the kudos one gets from being a member of this antiquated old boys club is enough to dine out on in that world which is ever so remote from the ordinary man in the street who in all probability will be having to turn out and work through the so called holidays.