Prime Minister’s Questions, or PMQs, is a weekly event that takes place every Wednesday at noon when the House of Commons is sitting.
MPs gather at the House of Commons chamber and ask the prime minister questions about current affairs or matters that affect their constituency. It is also an opportunity for the prime minister or Cabinet ministers to present key policies – like Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring Budget.
The PMQs are broadcast live on the BBC and people can request tickets from their MPs.
But anyone who has watched a PMQs session will wonder, why do MPs stand up during PMQs?
Why do MPs stand up during PMQs?
Immediately before and after an MP asks a question, it is common for other MPs to stand up. MPs do so to catch the eye of the Speaker, who chooses MPs to ask the prime minister a question.
Before the PMQs session, MPs can enter their name on the Order Paper if they want to be called upon to ask a question. But sometimes time permitting, the Speaker will allow MPs to ask supplementary questions.
The MPs stand up to signal to the Speaker that they have a supplementary question to ask.
Why do MPs say ‘Honourable Friend’?
Another quirk of the PMQs that viewers may have noticed is that MPs call each other “Right Honourable Friend”. The term or “The Right Honourable Lady/Gentleman” is how MPs address each other in the House of Commons.
“Right Honourable Friend” is usually used for Privy Councillors, while MPs are addressed as “honourable.”
Furthermore, the term “friend” is usually used when MPs are addressing somebody within their own party.
A House of Commons factsheet explains the reason why they address each other in this way: “The purpose of using ‘Honourable’ is to maintain the dignity of the House and its members, to make criticism and comment less direct as well as showing respect to the chair.
“A member persistently offending against the tradition by using ‘you’ or a member’s name is likely to be corrected by the Speaker and to be interrupted by shouts of ‘order’ from other members.”
