Prayers in Parliament - If MPs want a seat they got to turn up for prayers!

[PanAtheist]

I watched the BBC's new documentary that gives an inside look at the workings of the House of Commons :

Inside The Commons : Lifting the Lid

To all Brits, I recommend watching this series!

Anyway, whilst the National Secular Society has been campaigning against prayer sessions in local council meetings - it's an integral part of Parliament too.

Prayers take three minutes at the beginning of the day. You think you could just turn up late ... but here's the rub:

There are more MPs than seats in Parliament , so if you want to grab a seat, and if you want to get a good seat, you have to be there in the beginning.

There is this system of booking seats - with "prayer cards", which are little chits of paper that an MP can put in a slot on a seat. So an MP can get there before parliament begins, and put one of these cards in a seat to book that seat.

Here's the most troubling thing: if an MP then doesn't then turn up for prayers, then the commons staff take out the card from the seat and tear it up. So seats are only bookable for MPs who are willing to turn up for prayers!

Welcome to the British Parliament in 2014!