There are few things that irritate an MP in the chamber of the House of Commons more than the sight of all the journalists in the press gallery walking out in the middle of a debate.
There are few things that irritate an MP in the chamber of the House of Commons more than the sight of all the journalists in the press gallery walking out in the middle of a debate. It annoys them so much not because it means their own remarks will probably go unreported but because it is a visible symbol of the shift in power from the legislature to the executive. The journalists are all dashing out to hear some government aide explain what a minister really meant by an earlier statement.
On Monday, the briefing that followed a statement from Michael Gove also revealed a shift of power within the coalition. As Gove explained how the coalition was going to replace Labour’s scheme for paying less well-off children to stay on at school, a loyal aide sat on the gallery’s green benches waiting to brief the press.
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