Walking backwards into the royal future

He didn8217;t have to do it; the two previous lord chancellors walked the modern way, forward. It was a surprise, but it was his 8220;personal choice8221;, explained a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice, the government agency he runs in his day job as a member of the cabinet.

In fact, Straw8217;s return to tradition was of a piece with the general direction of the State Opening of Parliament, the ceremony that marks the beginning of the legislative session each fall. Despite sporadic, half-hearted talk of slimming it down to look less like a scene from a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and more like a scene from a 21st-century legislature, the State Opening persists with all its traditional glory.

8220;Parliament loves its trappings,8221; said James Graham, a spokesman for Unlock Democracy, a group that campaigns for such innovations as an elected House of Lords. Graham said that when the institution does change 8212; for instance, the Lords has chosen a speaker for the last two years to do a job that used to be done by the multitasking lord chancellor 8212; it simply readjusts to fit in with tradition.

8220;Almost as soon as she took office, the speaker had a costume and trappings and a formalised role8221; in the State Opening, Graham said. 8220;On one level, it8217;s fascinating to see how adaptable a system it is, but on the other it8217;s quite alienating. It certainly doesn8217;t make the politicians look like they8217;re of the people.8221;

That is true. Straw, for example, who is Britain8217;s top legal official, did not look like a man of the people, dressed as he was in a baroque outfit that included a long, heavy robe trimmed with gold. New to the job, Straw seemed very excited about its ceremonial frills, including the part where he virtually prostrated himself at the queen8217;s feet before handing over her speech. He vowed over the summer that the government would do nothing to 8220;detract in any way from either the formality or the importance of the State Opening of Parliament by Her Majesty the Queen.8221;

8220;There isn8217;t a substantial debate about this, and there is this sort of attitude that you shouldn8217;t criticise the monarchy,8221; said Graham Smith, the campaign manager for Republic, a group that supports an elected head of state. He took a stab at it, though. 8220;It8217;s not just bizarre,8221; he said. 8220;It8217;s kind of offensive to the basic principles of democracy that an unelected woman, not accountable to anyone, sits up there and tells us what the government is doing.8221;

That is how the Labour member of Parliament Dennis Skinner, a former coal miner, feels, too. He makes a point every year of remaining firmly in the House of Commons after his fellow legislators are summoned to the House of Lords to hear the queen declaim. He also likes to shout anti-monarchical things at Black Rod, the Lords official who does the summoning.

8220;I8217;m not one of those people that ring up the press and say, 8216;Look what I8217;m doing,8217; but I decided when I was elected to Parliament that I wouldn8217;t be involved in crawling or groveling to the monarchy,8221; Skinner said.

Getting back to Jack Straw. Perhaps his decision to walk backward rather than forward simply reflected the fact that he is in better physical shape than his predecessors, said the Justice Ministry spokeswoman. 8220;I think elderly, portly gentleman might have trouble walking backwards without toppling over,8221; she said. 8220;But as for Jack Straw, he8217;s sprightly. He8217;s a runner. He can easily walk backwards, even wearing a cape.8221;