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Great Britain
The Boudica statue stands in the foreground as fog shrouds the clock tower which houses the ’Big Ben’ bell of the Palace of Westminster in London, Thursday, March 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) The Associated Press
Ottawa

Meanwhile, in Britain...

A familiar noise around the mother parliament
By Aaron Wherry

It would seem Conservative government backbench angst transcends the Atlantic Ocean.

Yet the old way of handling backbenchers, a mixture of benign neglect and an occasional whipping, appears unsustainable. The vigour of the Tory 2010ers is no coincidence. Nor is their independent-mindedness merely a matter of indiscipline. Rather, they denote structural changes in British politics, which Parliament is lagging. The vim displayed on the backbenches reflects a move to full professionalism: until a few years ago most Tory backbenchers had second jobs, but tougher rules on disclosure have made this almost impossible. Independent-mindedness is similarly entrenched, being a response to closer ties between MPs and their constituents—partly wrought by new media—and to the ideologically-chastening reality of coalition government, which Britain is likely to see more of. “Is it a bad thing to have MPs voting for what they think is right?” asks Dr Wollaston, reflecting the view of many newcomers. “Isn’t that Parliament working well?”