An annual event took place in the House of Commons on Monday when our elected representatives spent an hour discussing whether or not they should allow a small number of young people who are part of the UK Youth Parliament to use the Chamber of the House of Commons to debate issues that matter to them. The good news for those of us who wish to scrutinise the work of our MPs is that this visit by the Youth Parliament takes place on a day when no other business is planned for our MPs in the House of Commons, so no working days would be lost. Nevertheless these 650 MPs spent an hour debating if they could agree that the event which has taken place in previous years should take place again. One of the MPs opposed to giving access to the Youth Parliament appeared to do so on the grounds that he thought that the UKYP is already fully engaged in Political discourse and if Parliament wants to extend involvement in democracy, they should be searching out people who do not get involved in the UKYP! In other words lets ban these young people from the Chamber, but send someone off to find people even less interested and persuade them to come instead. It seems clear that our MPs should not be the ones that decide where they meet and when they meet, they should instead be focused on making national laws and policies in the most effective manner possible. They are supposed to be accountable to us and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are surrounded with intelligent and skilled people who can resolve such complex matters as where debates will take place. They also should not have to worry about what happens to our building when they are not using it. Indeed bearing in mind how badly maintained it is their grasp of such matters proves they are simply making things worse. It was insightful to hear Alan Duncan explaining to journalists in the context of the £7Bn repair bill, and the need to get MPs to vacate the Chamber for several years whilst the repairs take place that it was asinine to suggest the Parliament should move out of London, and it was not going to happen. It is clear that MPs like Mr Duncan need to understand that they work for us, and that it is our decision when and where they should meet. If my boss tells me that we are moving premises, I do all I can to ensure that happens well, I would expect to be consulted but I don’t own the place. Equally if he wanted to bring strangers into the building on a day when I was not there, that would be his concern, not mine. Unfortunately our MPs believe they are meant to act as both Landlord and Tenant, as both Employer and Employee. That Mr Duncan is Asinine, you Ass.