For months, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has expressed increased irritation with the conduct of MPs in the House of Commons. This week, he took the extraordinary step of writing to the leaders of all the main political parties to discuss how Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) can be cooled amid increasing dissatisfaction from the public.
The viewing public have complained that the shouting, hollering and sniping in the sessions have made PMQs difficult to watch, representing an absurd indictment on the quality of current MPs.
Another recent complaint is that PMQs sessions have become increasingly orchestrated, with the Prime Minister being asked orchestrated questions from his backbenchers, readily identifiable by the similarity of question characteristics throughout the sessions.
Recently, Bercow slammed the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, in the Commons with the rebuke: "You need to write out a thousand times, 'I will behave myself at Prime Minister's Questions'."
Other than encouraging MPs to quieten so questions and answers can be heard, it is unclear how the sessions can be improved, other than naming and removing the worst offenders.
One option could be restricted entry to the session, with MPs scheduled to ask questions permitted access. This has the potential to make the sessions more manageable.
The Hansard Society has included among its recommendations on the issue a rugby-style "sin-bin" for particular wrongdoers and rescheduling PMQs to prime-time to generate viewer interest.
