Cut it out: British lawmakers have power to move ahead in line

? The clerks, aides and secretaries who work in Parliament consider it the unkindest cut of all.

British lawmakers have been granted the power to move to the head of the line at restaurants, restrooms and elevators inside the Houses of Parliament, enraging those assistants, researchers, janitors and other workers who must only stand and wait.

The workers warn that Parliament is in danger of appearing decidedly undemocratic in allowing the lawmakers, in British parlance, to “jump the queue.”

“People are outraged,” said Kevin Flack, an aide and labor union representative. “They are shocked by the attitude behind it as much as anything.”

The dispute strikes at the heart of a peculiarly British obsession – the sanctity of waiting patiently in line for buses, trains, coffee stands, deli counters – anywhere there is a crowd.

Pierre Klemas, 28, a noise consultant for a London engineering company, said he wouldn’t dare cut a line in Britain.

“It’s part of the culture here,” said Klemas, a Frenchman, waiting at a London bus stop. “Jumping a queue is just not very British.”

Flack, one of around 10,000 workers at Parliament – parts of which date to around the 11th century – said staff feel they are being ranked as second-class citizens by elected members.

Anger boiled over at a meeting Tuesday, with staff accusing legislators of boldly brushing them aside at elevator lobbies and cutting as workers waited to be issued with new security passes. The House of Commons administration committee – which approved the policy – acknowledged members needed to negotiate on the changes, but didn’t offer to scrap the directive.

“It was a very angry meeting, with staff complaining about queue jumping, particularly at lifts,” Flack said. Another grievance, he said, is the fact elected members already have a number of plush dining rooms and bars to which staff and the public are denied access.

“At a time when Parliament is trying to bring itself into the modern world, this feels like a step back to ancient times,” Flack said.

Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords already enjoy a range of privileges – from reserved spaces for their ceremonial swords to a special legal exemption that prevents them from being sued over anything said in Parliament’s chambers.

Lawmakers also retain the ancient right to collect a pinch of snuff – or chewing tobacco – from doorkeepers.

As inequitable as the British staff might find the change, there are few places – if any – where an American lawmaker might stand in line on Capitol Hill. U.S. representatives have their own elevators, dining rooms and doors – and their own restrooms in their offices.