House of Commons decorum

The Speaker of the House of Commons has an important duty, chief of which is to maintain order among MPs within parliament. With over 50 new SNP MPs venturing south of Holyrood to take their seats in Westminster, many of whom were likely unaware of the differences in custom between Scottish Parliament and Westminster, the Speaker found it necessary to reprimand the Scottish MPs for clapping in the chamber, which he informed them went against the "long established traditions" of the house. That's a nice sentiment, but rather misguided I fear. 

I rarely bother to watch discussions from the house, and not for a lack of interest. One would imagine that seeing politicians debating things in the house where laws are passed will give a real sense of what their motivations and beliefs are, hopefuly informing of what our elected politicians our doing to represent us. But, if one is to tune in, perhaps to watch Prime Ministers questions for example, what is to be found is not a constructive debate about issues, but non-stop jeering across the floor, infantile posturing and juvenile digs being exchanged in a manner that wouldn't be out of place on a school yard. Clapping is a rather dignified sign of support compared to the typical behaviour displayed within the commons. It's nice to hear them refer to each other as "my honourable friend" or "the honourable gentleman", but when such referrals are followed with the most juvenile of comments, whose seemingly only purpose is to command self-congratulating affirmations from fellow party members, it becomes difficult to see exactly what it is within the house that clapping is actually detracting from, or what it is that the "long established traditions" are supposed to be upholding. The House of Commons may very well be a place where tradition is important, but in the context of a political chamber, perhaps those traditions are somewhat outdated. Perhaps one might consider that an apt definition of what tradition is...