Diary by Sir Edward Leigh: Life in UK Parliament as a traditional Catholic

Nothing concentrates the mind like the prospect of a hanging, as that good Tory, Doctor Johnson, put it. One of the healthiest aspects of British democracy is that, every few years, every single member of parliament must face the decision of the electors.

The voters of the Gainsborough constituency have been kind enough to return me to Westminster for an 11th turn. I was surprised to find myself become Father of the House as the kindly Sir Peter Bottomley was sadly not re-elected.

The duties of this new role are hardly onerous – I presided over the re-election of the Speaker and I served as one of his temporary stand-ins in the weeks before the deputy speakers were elected – but it should kick me up the speaking lists when I want to air my views in the chamber.

My views are those of a Latin Mass-attending socially-conservative Brexiteer Thatcherite, so they are probably representative of about 0.1 per cent of the population.

In Parliament we are spoiled in that most of our important business happens later in the day. When I wake up in Westminster, the first thing I do is go for a swim in the Serpentine, whether summer or winter. We have a little swimming club there that is something of a family itself, and I’m pleased that now some of my six children have taken up this habit as well. The club pretty much looks after itself, but the Royal Parks recently mandated that we have a full-time lifeguard during our swimming hours.

Our insurance company seems to have been able to come to a new arrangement, so we are now back to managing ourselves. It’s a relief to win at least some battles against fuss and interference.

After my swim, I head to Westminster Cathedral for Mass. Aside from the obvious benefit of worshipping God, the simple beauty of the liturgy adds a moment of reflective dignity to one’s day and helps take you outside of yourself – for a while, at least.

The liturgy also provides me with literary inspiration. Every day I write a sonnet and a haiku inspired by the readings from the day’s Mass. St Paul’s Publications will be producing a volume of my poetry later this year, to go with the three-year liturgical cycle.

Writing these poems has helped me meditate on the great mysteries of life, so I hope reading it proves useful as well. I’ve been putting them online on a daily basis, and a former Canadian cabinet minister and provincial premier who was visiting London last year let me know how much he enjoys them. I hope others will, too.

After Mass, I head to my parliamentary office to try and work out what grievance I can cause the government later in the afternoon. This is my task no matter which party is in power, as the vital job of an MP above everything else is to scrutinise legislation and to hold the government to account.

Across 41 years in this place, I’ve seen plenty of change. Before I was elected, I served Mrs Thatcher as her correspondence secretary, managing a team of typists when she was leader of the opposition. Now I can reach tens of thousands of people with just a click of a button on Twitter, or X as it now self-identifies.

While time marches on, luckily there is much that remains the same. Parliament is a traditional place, which makes it a target for cheap criticism. Newly-elected MPs are often firebrands at tackling the customs and conventions of the House, many of which can seem outmoded. But the more time you spend on the green benches and traversing Pugin’s corridors, you realise there is a restraining dignity about it all.

That restraint abounds in these halls. The intimacy of the chamber itself keeps you physically close to your opponents, forcing you to recognise the humanity in their faces. In the queue for a cup of tea you might find yourself next to the person you attacked in the chamber during a debate an hour earlier. A friendly nod and a word of greeting go a long way to keeping politics civil.

But tradition has its enemies. I don’t understand why there are clerics high up in Rome who seem determined to restrict people’s access to the Traditional Latin Mass. It is one of the most beautiful liturgies in existence and for centuries it helped form and sustain many saints – including martyrs like my own ancestor Blessed Richard Leigh, who was martyred at Tyburn in 1588.

Sir Edward Leigh is Member of Parliament for Gainsborough.

This article appears in the September 2024 edition of the Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our award-winning, thought-provoking magazine and have independent and high-calibre counter-cultural Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world click HERE.

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