Dispatch box

Dispatch box

A dispatch box, or despatch box, is a box for holding official papers and transporting them from place to place.

In the United Kingdom such boxes, looking roughly like briefcases, are traditionally red, bear the monogram of the sovereign, and are used by government ministers to carry documents, exchange documents, or to present documents to the sovereign for review. As such they are something of a status symbol and a totem of office. In an interview in 2005, Tony Blair revealed that most ministers now carry laptops in their cases, rather than paper documents.

There are also two wooden dispatch boxes which serve as lecterns on the table which divides each house of Parliament in the United Kingdom and Australia, one box for the Government and one box for the Opposition. The prime minister and leader of the opposition are seated roughly right at these boxes, and ministers and shadow ministers address the house from the dispatch boxes.

In addition to giving those addressing the house a place to speak from, the dispatch boxes contain bibles and other items used as part of the swearing in of new Members.

People often speak of an MP's performance "at the dispatch box," meaning his or her skills in addressing the house and, more specifically, arguing the party's case.

Australian Parliament

The dispatch boxes in the Australian Parliament were gifts from King George V to mark the opening of the Old Parliament House in Canberra on 9 May 1927. They are made of rosewood, and have enamel and silver decorations. Inside the lid of each box is an inscription signed by King George.

The Senate has two lecterns which serve a similar purpose.

United Kingdom Parliament

The dispatch boxes in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom were gifts from New Zealand, presented after Parliament was rebuilt following World War II. They are modelled on the Australian boxes.

The box on the Government's side houses a number of holy books of various religions including a Bible and a Qur'an. The Opposition's box contains a burnt Bible, dating back to the destruction of the Commons chamber during the Second World War by a German bomb. The Bible was resting on the centre table at the time the bomb detonated and remarkably was recovered largely intact.Fact|date=May 2008

More recently, the Government dispatch box is reported to have sustained serious (and potentially irreparable) damage at the hands of serving Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Brown's habit of jabbing his marker pen at his papers has led to the surface of the box becoming covered in black pen marks.


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  • Dispatch box — Dispatch boxes im australischen Parlament. Eine dispatch box (Alternative Schreibweise: despatch box) ist eine Truhe, die von Mitgliedern der britischen Regierung für den Transport von offiziellen Dokumenten verwendet wird. Im Vereinigten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dispatch box — Dispatch Dis*patch , n. [Cf. OF. despeche, F. d[ e]p[^e]che. See {Dispatch}, v. t.] [Written also {despatch}.] 1. The act of sending a message or messenger in haste or on important business. [1913 Webster] 2. Any sending away; dismissal; riddance …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dispatch box — n 1. (in British political life) a red leather case in which important papers are delivered to senior government ministers. It is traditional for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to hold his dispatch box up in the air for photographers and… …   Universalium

  • dispatch box — UK / US noun Word forms dispatch box : singular dispatch box plural dispatch boxes 1) [singular] the place where a senior government minister stands when speaking in the British parliament 2) [countable] a red case that a minister in the British… …   English dictionary

  • dispatch box — noun 1》 (also dispatch case) chiefly Brit. a container for state or military dispatches. 2》 (the Dispatch Box) a box in the House of Commons next to which ministers stand when speaking …   English new terms dictionary

  • dispatch box — di spatch box n BrE 1.) the dispatch box a box on a central table in the British Parliament, which important members of parliament stand next to when they make speeches 2.) a box for holding official papers …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • dispatch box — noun 1 (C) a box for holding official papers 2 the dispatch box a box on a central table in the British Parliament next to which important members of parliament stand to make speeches …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • dispatch box — box for holding documents; case for papers and other items used when traveling …   English contemporary dictionary

  • dispatch box — noun case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables • Syn: ↑dispatch case • Hypernyms: ↑case …   Useful english dictionary

  • dispatch box — dis patch ,box noun 1. ) singular the place where a senior government minister stands when speaking in the British parliament 2. ) count a red case that a minister in the British government uses for carrying documents …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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