Even Parliament

IN 1215, the Magna Carta was created, a governing document that would help inspire the U.S. Constitution more than 500 years later. Barons secured some rights from King John — namely, preventing the king from levying or collecting taxes without the consent of his royal council.That year, the very first Parliament convened. Imagine, a governing institution that is more than 800 years old. And now, thanks to covid-19, the United Kingdom’s governing body is having to change how it assembles.

According to The Washington Post,

“On Tuesday, a handful of lawmakers returned from their Easter break to approve the continuation of democracy via a ‘virtual Parliament,’ a remarkable and unanimous vote to overturn the way things have been done here for over 700 years, and to keep on arguing — but at a proper distance. House of Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, an old-school Conservative and Victorian scholar, said the new safeguards are necessary but not perfect — nor will they be permanent.”

The article went on to say roughly 50 of 650 elected members will be in the House of Commons chamber at once. And those inside will have to sit more than 6 feet apart (and no passing notes).

Beyond that, another 120 members will take part via video chat. How they will be able to still cheer and jeer each other and somehow get in those wonderful zingers without all the laptops buzzing and making things indecipherable is anybody’s guess. We imagine the Brits will pull it off, though.

When the bubonic plague impacted the land in 1349, Parliament simply canceled its session. Thanks to technology, it doesn’t have to do that this time. Someone might want to show the Queen how to use Zoom. Doesn’t she have a technical guy named Q on the staff ?