House Of Lords Goes High-Tech

CBS News Tech Guru Larry Magid Reports On How The Centuries-Old Institution Is Embracing Technology

(CBS)  I spent the afternoon at the House of Lords in Parliament as a guest of Baroness Glenys Thornton, whose husband, John Carr, is someone I’ve worked with over the years in the Internet safety arena. The House of Lords is the last place you’d expect to find modern technology. The august body, which dates back to the 11th century, is steeped in old tradition. The clerks still wear wigs, the chamber is adorned by a throne where the monarch sits for her annual address to Parliament, and there remain about 100 members who are “elected” from among the aristocracy by virtue of birth rather than good deeds or popular support. Yet this upper house of the British legislature has made some gestures toward the 20th and now 21st century, including allowing women to serve (starting in 1958) and appointing “life members” based on good deeds instead of hereditary status. It’s also embracing technology.

Although much of the chamber’s furnishings are from the 19th century, there are some very modern touches including a flat screen monitor displaying the topic of discussion and an “e-library” that serves members and staff from both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

After a very traditional lunch in the member’s dining room and an opportunity to watch members grill a government minister on the merits and foibles of a proposed national identity card, I spent a few minutes in Baroness Thornton’s office using her high-speed Internet connection while watching the proceedings from the floor on an overhead monitor.

But you don’t have to be in a member’s office to access the Net. In addition to the stately old Parliament buildings adorned by London’s famed Big Ben clock tower there is now a decidedly modern annex called Portcullis House, opened in 2001, that contains offices for 210 Members of Parliament as well as restaurants, conference rooms and an ultra modern “e-library” where members and their staffs can access the Internet and electronic copies of research materials.

And, thanks to technology, you don’t have to fly to London to watch the proceedings in Parliament. A website has live and archived videos of debates and discussions including the one I watched today. The webcasts can’t begin to convey the sense of history, tradition and pageantry that one gets from sitting in the chamber, but it does give you a ring side seat to the inner workings of Britain’s ancient yet increasingly modern deliberative bodies.