Parliament like ‘county council’ if ties made optional, says Tory MP
3 min read
Changing the Commons' dress code so men no longer need to wear ties makes parliament look “more like a county council”, a Tory backbencher has said.
Peter Bone said the decision of speaker John Bercow to allow MPs to take part in debates without formal neck attire “reduces the esteem” of the Commons in the eyes of the public.
“It does, sort of, slice by slice, make our parliament more like a county council or a devolved assembly,” he told Radio Four’s Today Programme.
“Our mother of parliaments is different, it’s been built up over hundreds of years with excellent traditions and this isn’t a tradition we need to get rid of. I just think it’s a slight mistake,” he added.
“Every time you dumb down the traditions of parliament I think it reduces the esteem of parliament.”
His comments follow an intervention in the Commons on Thursday where he raised the issue with the speaker in relation to the tieless Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake.
In an unexpected move, Mr Bercow replied that the wearing of a tie “is not absolutely front-and-centre stage”.
"I think there has always been some discretion for the chair to decide what is seemly and proper, and Members shouldn’t behave in a way that is disrespectful of their colleagues or of the institution. But do I think it’s essential that a Member wears a tie? No."
Mr Brake, who also appeared on the show, said Mr Bercow had previously told him that he was willing to relax some of the “Draconian” rules of the chamber, although he confirmed yesterday’s decision was not a set-up.
“I wouldn’t say I was set up but I thought it was unlikely that the Speaker would slap me down if I came into the chamber without a tie and asked a question,” he said.
Labour MP John Woodcock argued that MPs should be answerable to their voters regarding what they wear in the chamber.
Mr Bone found himself on the end of a telling off from the speaker in December when he donned a “crazy hat” in support of a Northamptonshire-based breast cancer charity.
Mr Bercow responded. “I’m glad that he’s now taken that hat off and I sincerely hope he won’t put it on again – preferably at any time but certainly not in the chamber.”
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