New Parliament Sits in the House of Commons

Parliament has sat for the first time since the general election on the 6^th May. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrat parties are sitting together on the government benches, and Labour have sat on the opposition benches, for the first time in 13 years. Gordon Brown sat on the back benches - yet only last week he was Prime Minister - that’s how things change quickly in British politics.

David Cameron, the new Prime Minister, sat alongside Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and the new Deputy Prime Minister. He welcomed all the new MPs that have been elected, and then spoke of ‘a new start’ for British politics with his coalition, and also a reference to the claims scandal that engulfed MPs in the last parliament.

Harriet Harmon, the acting Labour leader, and now Leader of the Opposition welcomed the new members of parliament, and congratulated the Prime Minister in his new job, but also stated that Labour would hold the government to account, whilst in opposition.

Before all this began, the Speaker, David Bercow, had to be re-elected. It was a formality really, but as this was a new Parliament following the general election, by tradition he had to be re-elected.

So the new Parliament has began in earnest, and the new Tory-Lib Dem coalition get to work to bring in the changes that the country needs now it is under new leadership - will they achieve their goals? Only time will tell.