On Wednesday, I completed something of a political anorak’s pilgrimage, namely going to see Prime Minister’s Questions. The opportunity to see the Commons (and by extension, our political system) in action tends to have a certain draw, particularly when it involves the most successful politicians debate.

There are only two points to make in this post: firstly, to say how incredibly helpful everyone is there. Secondly, it’s quite odd to see how open our system is. Although there is an inevitable heavy police presence, after one airport-style security check (albeit faster and friendlier) you can wander through to the Central Lobby and, in theory, lobby your MP to vote a particular way should they walk past.

The sheer openness of Parliament is both surprising and very reassuring. While it’s quite easy to get worked up about how politics works and its tendency towards partisanship (something I’ve often done myself), Parliament is a reminder that our democracy is very much alive and well.