An MP’s Westminster
Westminster is one of the most scrutinised patches of ground on earth. Cameras everywhere. Commentators everywhere. Opinions everywhere.
But very few people have actually worked here.
This walk is guided by someone who has.
Tom Levitt was a Member of Parliament for three full terms. He didn’t just observe Westminster. He lived it. Day after day. Vote after vote. Crisis after crisis. Triumphs, compromises, late nights, early mornings and moments that never make it into the history books.
This is Westminster from the inside.
We begin where modern parliamentary life really happens, at Portcullis House, the MPs’ working home, and the newer parliamentary offices that most visitors walk past without a second glance.
From there we move through the landscape of power: Westminster Bridge and the Embankment, places forever marked by events Tom remembers not as headlines, but as lived experience, including the 2017 attack and its aftermath.
Parliament itself looms large of course, with its stories of fire, rebuilding and ritual. Tom brings the great moments down to human scale, including the catastrophic fire of 1834 that reshaped British democracy in stone.
We take in Westminster Hall – arguably the most important medieval secular building in Europe. That vast space where power, law and monarchy have collided for nearly a thousand years. Where medieval kings held court, where the great state trials took place, where coronation banquets were held. A space that has witnessed moments of national mourning and centuries of political theatre.
We stop at St Stephen’s Tavern, the MPs’ local, where politics relaxes its tie and shows its true face.
There are moments of quiet gravity too. The Bridge attack memorial. St Margaret’s, Westminster. Parliament Square and its famous red phone box.
Personal memories of colleagues, including Jo Cox, that remind us politics is not an abstraction but a vocation undertaken by real people, with real risks and real convictions.
We pause to take a good look at Middlesex Guildhall, now the Supreme Court. And its neighbours Westminster Abbey, Church House, the QE2 Centre and Methodist Central Hall, a building with an astonishing global afterlife as the birthplace of the United Nations. Here Tom shares a story you will not hear anywhere else, involving Mikhail Gorbachev and a moment when history brushed very close indeed.
This is not a standard Westminster walk. It is not a recital of dates and monuments.
It is an insider’s guide to the corridors of power, led by someone who walked them for years.
Signing a former MP to guide a political Westminster walk: that’s classic London Walks. Bragging rights included. “I was squired round Westminster by a former Member of Parliament.”
Bottom line: if you’ve ever wondered what Westminster really feels like from the inside, this is your chance to find out.
Brian Altchuler –
24/04/26: I enjoyed the walk this morning and would recommend it to others. As it sets out in the description, the walk takes in such as the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, Westminster Abbey and surrounding buildings. Tom points out, and talks about, places of interest but what I particularly enjoyed were his stories about his time as an MP, including his link with the Westminster Bridge attack.
Colin Startup –
Walk is set against the backdrop of an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nearly all the buildings in the area have an interesting history with notable architects involved. Tom is a knowledgeable guide that has the inside knowledge of having actually spoken in the Commons chamber, been a bag carrier to a Minister, dealt with the introduction of a contested Bill, participated in Westminster Hall debates, and met with senior foreign politicians.
Katherine –
Some quite interesting stories, but this was not a walk. Three stops – beginning, middle, end. We barely made 500 paces. I suggest you turn this into an on-line talk.
Mike Newman –
Too much standing in one place for about 15-20 minutes