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Government

Parliament Matters

Join two of the UK’s leading parliamentary experts, Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox, as they guide you through the often mysterious ways our politicians do business and explore the running controversies about the way Parliament works. Each week they will analyse how laws are made and ministers held accountable by the people we send to Westminster. They will be debating the topical issues of the day, looking back at key historical events and discussing the latest research on democracy and Parliament. Why? Because whether it’s the taxes you pay, or the laws you’ve got to obey… Parliament matters!

Mark D’Arcy was the BBC’s parliamentary correspondent for two decades. Ruth Fox is the Director of the parliamentary think-tank the Hansard Society.

❓ Submit your questions on all things Parliament to Mark and Ruth via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pm#qs
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety and…
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl.

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Founding producer Luke Boga Mitchell; episode producer Richard Townsend.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest Episodes:

Is Parliament a decaying organism? Lord Lisvane on our crumbling constitution Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

The crumbling state of the Palace of Westminster is a living metaphor for the wider constitutional decay that has taken hold in the UK, as the quality of our governance has nosedived in recent years.

In this special interview, Lord Lisvane – crossbench Peer and former Clerk of the House of Commons – discusses his worries about the state of the constitution and explains why he thinks the House of Commons has virtually resigned from the legislative process.

He sets out what changes are needed, why a written constitution is not the answer, and why a lot of brownie points could be won by a Prime Minister keen to fix his reputation for future years. And with an eye on the Rwanda Bill Lord Lisvane explains what the term “parliamentary sovereignty” means.

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e10
❓ Send your questions to us on all things Parliament here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘These guys like to be written about’: The art of parliamentary sketchwriting, with Rob Hutton Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

In this bonus edition of Parliament Matters, Mark and Ruth talk to Rob Hutton, columnist and sketchwriter for The Critic Magazine, about the way he practices one of Britain's oldest journalistic arts, sketching the proceedings of Parliament.

🔗 Read Rob Hutton's recent sketches on The Critic website here: thecritic.co.uk/author/robert-hutton
🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e9
❓ Send your questions to us on all things Parliament here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High drama or damp squib?… And what’s happening with pairing? Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

Well, in the end, was it high drama or a bit of a damp squib? This was the week when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s fate was supposedly in the balance, as MPs on his own side decided whether they were going to back his Rwanda Bill. As it turned out, he won and won quite handily. But what happens now?

To discuss the events of the week, we were joined in the studio by Rob Hutton, parliamentary sketchwriter at The Critic Magazine, to get his verdict from the press gallery. We unpack the mysteries of ‘pairing’ for parliamentary votes, the impact of the Covid inquiry on political events at Westminster, and we look ahead to the Liaison Committee’s evidence session with the Prime Minister before Parliament wraps up for the festive break.

And with an eye on the resurgence of democracy in Poland, we highlight the impact on the Polish Parliament, where a record number of viewers are tuning in to watch the Sjem’s proceedings.

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e8
❓ Send your questions to us on all things Parliament here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Westenders: The battle for the heart and soul of the Conservative Party Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

If Parliament feared that their proceedings would be overshadowed this week by Boris Johnson’s appearance before the Covid inquiry, they need not have worried. MPs rose to the challenge. There was a high-profile ministerial resignation, Rishi Sunak suffered the first Commons defeat of his premiership, and Suella Braverman delivered a vengeful personal statement to the House.

But what is actually going to happen in Parliament with the treaty with Rwanda and the Bill that declares the African nation to be a safe place for the UK to relocate illegal migrants?

As the Conservative Party descends into recriminations, Mark and Ruth discuss the implications for Parliament, as the Defence Select Committee loses its Chair just two months after his appointment.

And there’s a new crop of Private Members’ Bills – what are they and what chance have they got of making the statute book?

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e7
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special feature: The genesis of PARLY, with Tony Grew Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to this special feature of Parliament Matters, where we talk to Tony Grew – the Secretary of the Parliamentary Press Gallery – about PARLY, his journalism and social media project that shines a light on the proceedings of Parliament. If you tune-in to episode 6, you can listen to Tony and podcast co-hosts Ruth and Mark dissect the key parliamentary issues of the week and find out why Tony has concerns about the Whips management of legislative business, and why the Palace of Westminster is not a fit workplace.

⭐ Support PARLY: gofund.me/bb47570a
🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e6
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legislative bodging: No way to run a chip shop! Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

This week we are joined by Tony Grew, a doyen of the parliamentary press gallery, to discuss the growing fashion for re-writing Bills mid-air as they pass through Parliament.

We debate a new report from the Lords Economic Affairs Committee about the democratic deficit surrounding the Bank of England and we look at the four new special inquiry committees Peers have chosen to set up for 2024.

And we dissect the Labour reshuffle. Two MPs who won by-elections this year have been appointed Shadow Ministers. Is the idea that MPs should serve time on the back benches before being elevated to the front bench now dead?

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e6
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Parliament’s ‘Wastefinder General’ on the ‘Big Nasties’ Nov 24, 2023

Show notes

Following the Autumn Statement Mark and Ruth are joined this week by Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee in the House of Commons. The Committee is the financial watchdog that has been going since the days of William Gladstone.

As Parliament’s ‘Wastefinder General’, Dame Meg has got a list of ‘Big Nasties’: major public sector building projects that have been delayed due to cost pressures, sometimes for decades, but which are now at a point where they can longer be put off.

She outlines her concerns about one of those ‘Big Nasties’: the Restoration and Renewal of Parliament (or the R&R programme). It has been hit by a string of delays. There are serious concerns about health and safety, governance and the lack of transparency surrounding the project. After kicking the can down the road for years, who would want to be the Government if disaster strikes the Palace of Westminster?

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e5
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Total reshuffle, emergency legislation and Parliament’s ‘Golden Ticket’ Nov 17, 2023

Show notes

What a week! Suella Braverman's sacking from Government was immediately eclipsed by the appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary. Mark and Ruth explore the many questions this raises, not least for scrutiny of foreign affairs by MPs - what options do they have to hold the newly ennobled Lord Cameron to account? And with huge ministerial churn across key departments, how will legislation and parliamentary business be affected with the Autumn Statement less than one week away and the General Election date still uncertain.

Then there's the PM's pledge to introduce 'emergency' legislation and a new treaty following the Rwanda ruling in the Supreme Court. Our podcast hosts visit crossbench Peer and barrister Lord Anderson of Ipswich to discuss what might happen next and whether the Prime Minister's pledge is the 'extraordinary step' he claims. They also discuss his new Private Members' Bill to protect standards of integrity and ethics in public service.

Finally, we hear from Conservative MP Nickie Aiken whose proposals to regulate pedicabs began with a Private Members' Bill (PMBs) and ended up in the King's Speech. What are PMBs? Why are they such an important tool for backbench MPs? And why do the procedures surrounding them fall short?

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e4
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Urgent Questions #1 Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Periodically we’ll have special ‘Urgent Question’ episodes to answer your questions about how Parliament works.

In this episode we answer questions about whether Ministerial announcements to the media before they are made to MPs amounts to a contempt of Parliament, how parliamentary reform can be secured, and whether we really need a second Chamber.

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e3
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pm#qs
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All change on the Committee corridor and regulating the conduct and standards of MPs Nov 12, 2023

Show notes

Four new Chairs of Select Committees have been elected but how much can they achieve in what is likely to be the final parliamentary Session before the General Election?

30 MPs have lost the Whip in this Parliament and a recall petition has just opened in the constituency of Wellingborough after former Conservative MP Peter Bone was excluded from Parliament for six weeks. So, Mark and Ruth discuss how the recall system works, why the Standards Committee is looking at how this and other aspects of the regulation of MP’s conduct and standards could be improved, and why it’s so difficult to exclude MPs from Parliament after they are accused of very serious offences.

🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e2
❓ Submit your questions to us on all things Parliament using the form on our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pm#qs
📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety
✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl
🪙 Support the Hansard Society by making a donation. We don't have a wealthy founder or an endowment. That's why donations are so important – they help to support our work AND our independence: hansardsociety.org.uk/donate

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Produced by Luke Boga Mitchell, Hansard Society

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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