Quote Originally Posted by InsaneApache View Post
I thought that the Blair government decided they should knock off about tea time.
It was partly the result of the relatively massive influx of women MPs, that parliamentary sessions were rescheduled to end earlier. The previous state of affairs made it practically impossible for anyone with families to attend to to engage in parliamentary politics, which ended late, and had after-session discussions that went on even later. From accounts I've read, the timings of parliamentary matters also encouraged alcoholism, as the MPs would hang around in the bar afterward to "socialise" into ungodly hours. The earlier parliamentary sessions were meant to break up this old boys culture, and make it at conform at least a little with the wider world.