Tours of Parliament
If you would like to visit Parliament I can arrange a tour in my capacity as your MP (subject to availability). There are three types of tour available:
General Election 2015: Due to the general election taking place on 7th May 2015, Parliament will close on Monday 30th March. Please note that no tours will take place during the election period. Dame Joan will be standing down at the 2015 general election but any outstanding tour bookings will be transferred to her successor.
- Tour of the Houses of Parliament
- Tour of Big Ben Clock Tower
- Educational Visits
General Election 2015: Due to the general election taking place on 7th May 2015, Parliament will close on Monday 30th March. Please note that no tours will take place during the election period. Dame Joan will be standing down at the 2015 general election but any outstanding tour bookings will be transferred to her successor.
Tour of the Houses of Parliament
Update March 2015: There is now limited availability before the end of August 2015. There will be no tours of Parliament from 30th March-31st May because of the general election and subsequent Queen's Speech. Bookings for August will open on 2nd March but as MP-sponsored tours will only take place on Mondays during that month spaces will be limited.
Guided tours of Parliament take place at various times, depending on whether Parliament is in session:
Sitting Days
Non-Sitting Days and Recesses
Summer Recess
Weekends
Bank Holidays
Members' tours are free and under no circumstances should a fee be paid to anyone.
If you would like to book a tour, please email me at joan.ruddock.mp@parliament.uk with a list of possible dates and the number of people in your party, remembering to include your full postal address. We will then contact the Tours Office to find out whether they have any spaces available. The usual maximum number of people per group is 20, but it may be possible to split larger groups over two or more time slots.
Please note that the tours are very popular and often get booked up several months in advance. Early booking and flexibility regarding dates and times is therefore advantageous.
Further information is available on the Parliament website.
Update March 2015: There is now limited availability before the end of August 2015. There will be no tours of Parliament from 30th March-31st May because of the general election and subsequent Queen's Speech. Bookings for August will open on 2nd March but as MP-sponsored tours will only take place on Mondays during that month spaces will be limited.
Guided tours of Parliament take place at various times, depending on whether Parliament is in session:
Sitting Days
- Mondays - 9.00am to 12.00pm (full tours)
- Tuesdays & Wednesdays - 9.00am to 9.55am (full tours); 10.00am to 12.00pm (partial tours - House of Lords only)
- Thursdays - no tours
- Fridays - 3.30pm to 5.00pm (full tours)
Non-Sitting Days and Recesses
- Non-sitting Fridays - 3.30-5.00pm
- Christmas/New Year Recess - no tours
- Easter & Spring Recesses - Mondays 9.30am-5.00pm (excluding bank holidays)
- Whitsun Recess - Mondays 9.30am-5.00pm (excluding bank holidays)
Summer Recess
- There are very few free tours available over the summer and they are likely to be booked up a long way in advance; please contact my office for further details.
- Tickets for other times/days and for overseas visitors can be purchased via Ticketmaster.
Weekends
- There are no free Members' tours available, but tickets for a Saturday or Sunday tour can again be purchased via Ticketmaster.
Bank Holidays
- There are no tours on bank holidays.
Members' tours are free and under no circumstances should a fee be paid to anyone.
If you would like to book a tour, please email me at joan.ruddock.mp@parliament.uk with a list of possible dates and the number of people in your party, remembering to include your full postal address. We will then contact the Tours Office to find out whether they have any spaces available. The usual maximum number of people per group is 20, but it may be possible to split larger groups over two or more time slots.
Please note that the tours are very popular and often get booked up several months in advance. Early booking and flexibility regarding dates and times is therefore advantageous.
Further information is available on the Parliament website.
.
Big Ben Clock Tower Tours
Update March 2015: As ever the Big Ben tours are very popular and are already fully booked to the end of August 2015. Bookings for September and October 2015 will open after the election; if you would like to book you will need to contact my successor.
Guided tours of the Clock Tower take place at 9.00am, 11.00am and 2.00pm Monday – Friday (except Bank Holidays). Up to 16 visitors can be accommodated per tour.
Tours of the tower are free and under no circumstances should a fee be paid to anyone. They are open to UK permanent residents only and should not be used for fund raising activities, i.e. raffle, auction or personal gifts.
Children under the age of 11 are unfortunately not permitted. Visitors aged between 11 – 18 must be accompanied by an adult and school groups are required to have a minimum of two adults within the group. All visitors must be capable of ascending and descending the 334 step spiral staircase – further health and safety information is available here.
If you would like to book a tour, please email joan.ruddock.mp@parliament.uk with a list of possible dates and the number of people in your party, remembering to include your full postal address. We will then contact the Tours Office to find out whether they have any spaces available on your requested dates.
As Fridays are the most popular day, priority for the afternoon slot is given to MPs with constituencies outside the M25 whose guests have further to travel, but it may be possible for us to book these tours at quieter times.
Please note that the tours are very popular. Early booking and flexibility regarding dates and times is therefore highly recommended.
Further information is available on the Parliament website.
Update March 2015: As ever the Big Ben tours are very popular and are already fully booked to the end of August 2015. Bookings for September and October 2015 will open after the election; if you would like to book you will need to contact my successor.
Guided tours of the Clock Tower take place at 9.00am, 11.00am and 2.00pm Monday – Friday (except Bank Holidays). Up to 16 visitors can be accommodated per tour.
Tours of the tower are free and under no circumstances should a fee be paid to anyone. They are open to UK permanent residents only and should not be used for fund raising activities, i.e. raffle, auction or personal gifts.
Children under the age of 11 are unfortunately not permitted. Visitors aged between 11 – 18 must be accompanied by an adult and school groups are required to have a minimum of two adults within the group. All visitors must be capable of ascending and descending the 334 step spiral staircase – further health and safety information is available here.
If you would like to book a tour, please email joan.ruddock.mp@parliament.uk with a list of possible dates and the number of people in your party, remembering to include your full postal address. We will then contact the Tours Office to find out whether they have any spaces available on your requested dates.
As Fridays are the most popular day, priority for the afternoon slot is given to MPs with constituencies outside the M25 whose guests have further to travel, but it may be possible for us to book these tours at quieter times.
Please note that the tours are very popular. Early booking and flexibility regarding dates and times is therefore highly recommended.
Further information is available on the Parliament website.
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Educational Visits for Schools
These visits are much more specialised and as such are handled by the dedicated Houses of Parliament Education Service.
Please contact the Education Service directly if you would like more information:
Phone - 020 7219 4496 Email: education@parliament.uk
These visits are much more specialised and as such are handled by the dedicated Houses of Parliament Education Service.
Please contact the Education Service directly if you would like more information:
Phone - 020 7219 4496 Email: education@parliament.uk