This week we are joined by former House of Commons Clerk, Paul Evans, to discuss William Wragg’s fall from grace following a ‘honeytrap sting’. What does it tell us about the vulnerabilities public officials face in the digital age, and the complex interplay between personal conduct and public service? Numerous press reports suggest the Government may support another cross-party attempt to refer the conduct of the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP and the Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer MP, to...

Wayne David's groundbreaking Private Member's Bill aimed at thwarting Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) may be the most significant Private Member’s Bill to emerge from this final year of the current Parliament. But is there enough time to get this measure into law before the general election?   We talk to Wayne David about the genesis of this crucial legislation, from exposing the abuse of legal systems by affluent individuals to building bipartisan support in...

The Lords have dug in their heels and inflicted seven defeats on the Government over the Rwanda Bill this week. The Government claims the Bill is emergency legislation but it will not go back to the House of Commons until after the Easter recess. We discuss why, and what will happen next. Senior Conservative backbencher William Wragg MP tells us why he has lost confidence in the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, and why he has therefore resigned from the Speaker’s Committee on the...

Why did the Speaker fail to call Diane Abbott during Prime Minister’s Questions? The image of Britain’s first black female MP being talked about at the Despatch Box while not being allowed to say anything herself, once again left the House of Commons looking out of touch. Do Henry VIII powers threaten parliamentary democracy? Former MP and law professor, David Howarth, warns that Ministers are dodging scrutiny by MPs because they have powers to make significant changes to the law without...

It’s Budget week and the Chancellor has announced his plans for taxation and provided a fresh economic forecast. But how does Parliament get to grips – indeed does it get to grips - with the nation’s finances? We talk to Baroness Morgan of Cotes, a Conservative Peer who has been both a Treasury Minister and a scrutineer on the Treasury Committee. Henry Midgley of Durham University – who has worked at both the House of Commons and the National Audit Office – also joins us to discuss how MPs...

In this revealing conversation with Alicia Kearns MP, Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, we explore the critical role of parliamentary scrutiny in shaping foreign policy and addressing global challenges. We discover how recent Committee hearings have garnered global attention and influenced diplomatic discourse in overseas capitals and on the streets, particularly when critical information, such as the bombing of Medical Aid for Palestine, has been revealed. Alicia...

There was no let up for Mr Speaker as the fall-out continues from last week’s Commons chaos over the Opposition Day debate on Gaza. But is his position now safe? And why has the government pulled a vote on a scheme to exclude MPs accused of sexual harassment or assault from Parliament? Liz Truss MP was interviewed at the Conservative Political Action Conference in America by a man convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Select Committee investigating...

What happens when a party leader ducks the opportunity to face a long forensic interview on television during a general election campaign? What are the challenges posed to broadcasters when norms are ignored? Boris Johnson famously did that during the last general election: so how will that affect the approach of the parties and the broadcasters when negotiating the terms of future interviews at the next election? Will party leader debates happen this time, or will the negotiations between...

There were chaotic scenes in the House of Commons this week - as bad as anything seen during the Brexit convulsions – as the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle made a hash of handling the SNPs Opposition Day debate on a ceasefire in Gaza. Furious MPs signed a motion expressing no confidence in the Chair. But why and how did the Speaker end up in this position and can he survive? Is it really a big deal or is it just political game-playing? Has a rubicon been crossed if the Speaker contravened the...

With the House of Commons in recess this week Mark and Ruth catch up with listener's questions on a wide range of parliamentary topics. What was the point of debating an e-petition about the date of the general election? Was there ever a time when the Prime Minister gave a proper answer at PMQs? If the Speaker were to throw an MP out of the House of Commons Chamber for bad behaviour how would he do it? Is whipping in the best interests of democratic government? Sinn Fein MPs don't take...

It was supposed to be another culture wars attack line, but Rishi Sunak’s transgender jibe at Prime Minister’s Questions this week landed him in hot water. Is this misstep a sign of things to come in the general election campaign? Could Britain fight a war? We look at the political implications of a new Defence Select Committee report exploring the state of readiness of the country’s armed forces. And we explore just why the cross-party Committee is so annoyed with the Government. Every year...

Does Parliament have a potty-mouth problem? The Speaker of the House of Commons took MPs to task this week for their behaviour, amid accusations of a dramatic increase in the use of bad language in the Chamber. But is it really that fruity? And if he’s so concerned, isn’t it time the Speaker started to eject some MPs from the Chamber? The Government has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland, so we look ahead at what needs to happen to...

The Conservatives are on course for a shattering defeat and need to replace their leader again, says Sir Simon Clarke MP. We discuss the latest in the Conservative Party soap opera and what it means for parliamentary business ahead. Peers have voted not to ratify the UK-Rwanda treaty. At least they got a choice. The Commons Home Affairs Committee wants MPs to have a similar debate and vote, but the Government is refusing. We talk to former parliamentary lawyer Alex Horne about what is going...

The Rwanda Bill is through the Commons. Rishi Sunak has faced down his internal critics and diffused a backbench rebellion. The Bill now heads off to the House of Lords: What mayhem awaits it? This week’s air strikes against Houthi camps in Yemen to protect Red Sea shipping also prompted debate about the role Parliament should play when the Government deploys military force. Dr James Strong joins us in the studio to discuss Parliament and war powers. And one of the best books about...

The Post Office Horizon scandal is the largest miscarriage of justice in British history. James Arbuthnot is one of the ‘heroes’ at the heart of the drama unveiled in ITV’s Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. A Conservative MP and now a Peer in the House of Lords, he championed the plight of his constituents for over a decade, leading a parliamentary campaign to investigate malpractice at the Post Office. As the public and media debate about the scandal continues to rage, James Arbuthnot joins Ruth...

What should be on your radar when Parliament returns on 8 January 2024? Exploring the year ahead in Parliament, we discuss how the uncertainty about the date of the general election may affect scrutiny of the new laws proposed by the Government. Once the Prime Minister has decided on the date and asks the King to dissolve Parliament, some of these new laws may get pushed through Parliament in super-quick time during what is known as the ‘legislative wash-up’. But is this a good way to make...

A core purpose of Parliament is to make the laws that govern us all. But how are our laws made at Westminster? We have received several questions from listeners about how the process works and what the interplay is between the two Houses: Commons and Lords. So, in this special explainer we discuss the process from beginning to end: from when the Government first presents a Bill to Parliament to the point at which it receives Royal Assent, becomes an Act and is the law of the land. 🎓 Access...

Legendary political journalist Michael Crick joins us in the studio, to discuss the progress each party is making in selecting their candidates with the general election now less than a year away. Michael has been tracking candidate selections and reporting the results each week via his @TomorrowsMPs Twitter account. He explains how he is ‘lifting the secrecy on politics in the raw’ for what have hitherto been Britain’s ‘hidden elections’. Who are the candidates and what are their...

Members of Parliament do not have a job description. So, what exactly is their role? How do they balance constituency and parliamentary responsibilities? How do they manage ministerial and party work? At some point in the next 12 months we will have a general election. Within days, a large cohort of newly-elected MPs will arrive at the Palace of Westminster. How can they prosper and flourish in the House of Commons? How should they decide what to focus on? How do they maintain a work-life...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...