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PARTISAN REVIEW
this is the BBC celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Red Army with–
out mentioning Trotsky, but American susceptibilities are studied even
more carefully than Russian. We are still not broadcasting in Russian–
this at the request of the Russians themselves-though we are broadcast–
ing in nearly 50 other languages.
Well, now a word or two about our ancient institutions.
PARLIAMENT
When I was working with the BBC I sometimes had to go and listen
to a debate in the Commons. The last time I had been there was about
ten years previously, and I was very much struck by the deterioration
that seemed to have taken place. The whole thing now has a mangy,
forgotten look. Even the ushers' shirt fronts are grimy. And it is notice–
able now that, except from the places they sit in (the opposition always
sits on the Speaker's left), you can't tell one party from another. It is
just a collection of mediocre-looking men in dingy, dark suits, nearly all
speaking in the same accent and all laughing at the same jokes. I may
say, however, that they don't look such a set of crooks as the French
Deputies used to look. The most striking thing of all is the lack of
attendance. It would be very rare indeed for 400 members out of the
640 to turn up. The House of Lords, where they are now sitting, only
has seating accommodations for about 250, and the old House of Com–
mons (it was blitzed) cannot have been much larger. I attended the big
debate on India afte"r Cripps came back. At the start there were a little
over 200 members present, which rapidly shrank to about 45. It seems
to be the custom to clear out, presumably to the bar, as soon as any
important speech begins, but the House fills up again when there are
questions or anything else that promises a bit of fun. There is a marked
family atmosphere. Everyone shouts with laughter over jokes and allu–
sions which are unintelligible to anyone not an MP, nicknames are used
freely, violent political opponents pal up over drinks. Nearly any member
of long standing is corrupted by this kind of thing sooner or later.
Maxton, the ILP MP, twenty years ago an inflammatory orator whom
the ruling classes hated like poison, is now the pet of the House, and
Gallacher, the Communist MP, is going the same road. Each time I
have been in the House recently I have found myself thinking the same
thought-that the Roman Senate still existed under the later Empire.
I don't need indicate to you the various features of capitalism that
make democracy unworkable. But apart from these, and apart from the
dwindling prestige of representative institutions, there are special reasons
why it is difficult for able men to find their way into Parliament. To
begin with, the out-of-date electoral system grossly favors the Conser–
vative Party. The rural areas, where, on the whole, people vote as the
landlords tell them to, are so much over-represented, and the industrial
