Visiting Parliament
Tours
MPs can sponsor tours of Parliament for constituents who would like to visit. Tours are given to constituents free of charge, and must NOT be sold for profit to third parties.
A full tour takes approximately 75 minutes and takes in Sovereign’s Entrance, Norman Porch, Royal Gallery, Prince’s Chamber, the House of Lords Chamber, Central Lobby, Voting Lobby, Members’ Lobby, the House of Commons Chamber, St Stephen’s Hall and Westminster Hall.
A partial tour is the same but misses out the Voting Lobby, Members’ Lobby and Commons Chamber. These tours take place when the House is sitting (when debates are taking place).
Numbers
The maximum group size is 20. Tours of Parliament are extremely popular and get booked up a long way in advance. and it is therefore advisable to book well in advance.
Tour Timetable
Sitting Days
| Mondays | 09.00 to 12 Noon | Full Tours |
| Tuesdays | 09.00 to 12 Noon | Full Tours |
| Wednesdays | 09.00 to 09.20 | Full Tours |
| 09.25 to 12 Noon | Partial Tours (Lords Only) | |
| Thursdays | No Tours | |
| Fridays | 15.30 to 17.00 | Full Tours |
Non Sitting Days & Recesses
| Christmas / New Year | Closed | |
| Easter and Spring | Weekdays | 09.30 - 17.00 |
| Whitsun Recess | Weekdays | 09.30 - 17.00 |
| Prorogation | Weekdays | 09.30 - 17.00 |
| Summer Recess - July and August | Wednesdays and Thursdays | 09.30 to 12 noon |
| Summer Recess - September and October | Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays | 09.30 to 12 Noon |
There are no Members’ tours on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays.
To request a tour please contact John’s office with a firm idea of the number of people who will be in your party, the date and time you would like to visit. Please note that while all will be done to accommodate your request, high demand for these complimentary tours may mean that your first choice of date and time may not be available.
Big Ben
A tour of Parliament does not include a trip to see Big Ben, but constituents may wish to visit the clock tower on a separately-arranged tour. Constituents should note it is not always possible to arrange a tour of the Palace and clock tower on the same day.
Due to the security risks involved in allowing people to tour Big Ben’s tower, security checks need to be undertaken on visitors. It is recommended, therefore, that visitors book their tour at least three weeks before they wish to go, although those with foreign passports should allow more time.
Unfortunately children under eleven are not permitted to join the tours, and all visitors must be fit and able (and not scared of heights!) as there are 334 spiral steps to negotiate with little respite. Tours are for a maximum of sixteen visitors at a time.
Visits start at 10.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm and occasionally 9.30am on Mondays to Fridays. Tours take about an hour and parties should gather in Portcullis House reception no later than 10 minutes before their appointed tour time.
Please note that visitors are not permitted to take photographs inside the parliamentary estate.
Tickets
MPs are allocated a small number of gallery tickets each month. Tickets for Prime Minister’s Questions are in particularly high demand. Constituents can request Gallery tickets by contacting John’s office.