Andy McSmith's Diary: Welcome to the House of fun, children

Visiting Parliament is about to become much more fun, for children aged seven and over.

At the south end of the Palace of Westminster, furthest from Big Ben, a £7.4m new building has sprung up in amazingly quick time – the diggers first arrived last September – for the new Parliamentary Education Centre, intended to help get schoolchildren interested in politics.

Inside, it is spacious and child friendly. There is a room where visiting school parties can munch their packed lunches. On its walls are coats of arms borrowed from Parliament’s art collection, bearing instructive slogans like Bonne et Belle Assez (Good and beautiful enough) and Ubique patriam reminisce (Remember one’s country).

There are four themed “learning spaces” – a modern term, I believe, for what used to be called a classroom, only these are more fun than normal classrooms, because of the clever things visiting children can do with specially provided iPads.

For instance, in the monarchy-themed learning space they can call up a picture of Charles I on the iPad and if they line it up with the king’s portrait on the wall, he starts talking.

They can do something even weirder in the adjoining “discovery room”. They can turn the room into a virtual House of Commons debating chamber, and hear the voice of the Speaker, John Bercow, telling MPs off for behaving badly – just like in a real classroom.

An honourable mistake?

In the Commons chamber on 15 July, it was the turn of the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, to be ticked off by the Speaker.

While reporting to Parliament on the deal with Iran, Hammond addressed the venerable Labour MP, Sir Gerald Kaufman, as “the Honourable Gentleman”. Bercow was not having that. He pointed out: “The Right Honourable Member for Manchester Gorton is not an “Honourable Gentleman”, but a Right Honourable Gentleman and the Father of the House”.

Only in the mother of parliaments.

Critical time for Corbyn

Anyone who has any hope of ever living to see another Labour government will have been in despair upon reading the opinion poll, published by The New Statesman, showing Jeremy Corbyn on course to be the party’s leader; but spare a thought for what it would do to the man himself.

All his political life, Corbyn has stood for the principle – I quote – that “democracy depends on people being able to participate, check, balance and criticise what the leader does”.

Criticising anything and everything the Labour leader does has been Corbyn’s single-minded mission for 32 years. But how do you fight for the right to criticise the leader when you are the leader? Would Corbyn check, balance and criticise himself? Will he mount a leadership challenge, against himself? Confusing.

Plenty of ifs about this Butt

Welcoming a Queen tribute act to the stage at a local festival, Conservative councillor Francis Purdue-Horan announced that he had arranged for them to perform the 1970s Queen hit “Fat Bottomed Girls” in honour of all the girls of Bingham in Nottinghamshire.

Bingham’s political establishment is divided over whether this was offensive or funny. I have no opinion on that. I just note that the place where the festival was held is called Butt Field.