1295 and all that

Robin Sheeran The Politics Show Northern Ireland

Parliamentary reform is in the Westminster air, but reforming an unwritten constitution can be a tricky business.

Stormont: What sort of example?

Things have changed a fair bit since members of the Model Parliament sat down in 1295.

It is unlikely they were making claims for flat-screen TVs in those days, but you can bet the upkeep of manor houses, moats and manservants were every bit as relevant for medieval knights of the shire.

Samuel Pepys marked the end of England's republican experiment with a diary entry recording the arrival of Charles II by sea from his Dutch exile in 1660.

Sam's anecdote that the King's dog "dirtied the boat" is the lasting epitaph to a turning point in British constitutional history.

So, is it time for another poop on the poop-deck of history?

Suggestions for the re-jigging of Parliament are coming thick and fast.

Pepys recorded the end of the Republican experiment

The Scottish Parliament is being held up as a shining example.

What could Stormont offer as an example to the Mother of Parliaments?

Winner takes all?

Proportional representation

The Big Bang option.

A move away from the "winner takes all" first-past-the-post system has never been favoured by the big two Westminster parties who fear that coalition government might cramp their style.

Northern Ireland has had the single transferable vote for so long now that scarcely anyone can remember the bad old days of "one person, several votes".

The main complaint seems to be that it takes so darn long to count the ballot papers.

Second homes allowances

There are none at Stormont so if you are an MLA who lives way out west it's a case of tough Cheddar, you probably know the Glenshane Pass or the Stangmore roundabout like the back of your hand.

By contrast, MPs living in the wildest outposts of Harrow-on-the-Hill have been able to claim for a bijou pied-a-terre down the road in Westminster.

Changing the layout of the Commons chamber

This has been proposed by some as a way to end the confrontational style of Commons debate.

The old Stormont chamber was a mini-version of the Westminster model. Destroyed by fire in 1995, the "government on one side, opposition on the other" layout was replaced by the current elongated horse shoe.

Since Sinn Féin and the DUP have in any case gravitated to the opposing front benches there seems little to be gained by this.

New build

This has to be the win-win solution, giving a boost to the construction industry at the same time as allowing for a nice, new hemispherical chamber. Just don't tell the Prince of Wales.

The lesson to be learned from Stormont: don't stick it on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.

Designation

One aspect of the Stormont set-up that is unlikely to transfer to Westminster is the designation of MLAs as unionist, nationalist or other.

However, if a return to tradition is contemplated there is always the possibility of designating as cavalier, roundhead or confused.

This week on Politics Show from Northern Ireland, Jim Fitzpatrick presents a debate with all seven of the candidates for the European elections in front of an invited audience.

The Politics Show for the Northern Ireland, with Jon Sopel and Jim Fitzpatrick on Sunday at 12:00 on BBC One.

You get a second chance to see the programme again that night, at 22:55 GMT on BBC One.

Let us know what you think.

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