Twitch's UK Parliament channel is a baffling thing Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Twitch's UK Parliament channel is a baffling thing As the platform removes political emotes. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 9 Sep 2019 19 comments Right now, more than a thousand people are watching the UKParliament channel on Twitch, which exclusively shows what's going on in the House of Commons. Sure, this afternoon, a lot of people have tuned in to watch the fallout from House of Commons Speaker John Bercow's resignation. But I was watching earlier and viewer numbers were still in the high hundreds. The channel is a fairly recent addition to the platform, and initially hosted Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May and John Bercow emotes for subscribers. These have now been removed, esports consultant Rod Breslau noted on Twitter this afternoon, on the grounds of having "no political emotes" - there's no Trump emote, for example, or one for Obama. This decision highlights the grey area Twitch finds itself in hosting political content. As Breslau notes, political figures such as US senator Bernie Sanders already have Twitch channels. UKParliament's stream chat is turned on and comments are inherently political in nature, even if frequently incoherent in content. Watching this afternoon, I learned more about the timing for Bercow's resignation from one commenter - while another, on hearing Bercow mention having the whip removed, remarked: "whip me Daddy." But perhaps the channel's addition, as part of the Special Events category on Twitch, should not be surprising. There are now many non-gaming categories on the platform, and politics in the UK has rarely been more dramatic than in the past few weeks, with viewer figures higher for all traditional TV news channels. This is simply Twitch trying to get in on all the political action. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store