Both Houses have managed to sit this week, despite the dreadful weather conditions.   On Monday, courts did not sit, buses in London did not run, and many schools closed, but Parliament met.  My picture shows Victoria Tower Gardens early on Wednesday morning, when conditions were still pretty bad.  

A determination to sit is a feature of parliamentary history.  Members assembled in the nineteenth century, despite the dreadful stink at times.   In the Second World War, Parliament continued to sit; members not only discussed the conduct of the war but also raised constituency issues.  At times, sittings were held in Church House (known as the annexe);  as I have previously mentioned, after the Commons Chamber was destroyed by enemy action, the Commons sat in the chamber of the Lords and the Lords sat in the Robing Room.    During a sitting in the 1980s, part of the ceiling of the House of Lords collapsed, fortunately missing the peer who was speaking.  I gather peers seemed content to continue, until someone suggested it may be prudent to adjourn. 

Obviously, managing to meet on Monday in adverse weather conditions is as nothing compared with managing to sit during wartime, but I think there is symbolic relevance, as well as substantive value, in Parliament being determined to sit whatever the conditions.  Parliament is at the heart of our democratic system and not only sitting  but also being seen to sit sends out an important signal.