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 and Mark to discuss how the campaign in Parliament started, why Ministers failed to respond, and why it has taken so many years – and a television drama – to galvanise the Government into action.

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

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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 new laws? And what influence do MPs and Peers have if time for scrutiny is squeezed?

When the election is called, it is vital that the rules and processes underpinning the general election campaign are free and fair to all sides. But the Chair of the Electoral Commission recently issued a warning about the risk of election failure. So, we explore what is happening with our election infrastructure, what changes are currently going through Parliament, and what the political parties think about them.

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

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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.

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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 backgrounds? Are there going to be more women MPs or more MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds? How much control do the central party machines exercise over local constituency choices? And who are the candidates we should keep an eye on, who might be the up-and-coming names in the next Parliament?

If they do get elected these candidates will need to get their offices up and running quickly. Dr Rebecca McKee is the author of a recent report about Parliament’s ‘unsung heroes’ – namely, MPs staff. Who they are and what they do? Rebecca joins us in the studio to talk about what newly-elected MPs need to think about to avoid recruitment pitfalls and get the best possible start to their parliamentary careers.

• 🎓 Access resources about issues mentioned in this episode here: hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast-e12
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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 balance?

In this special explainer, we discuss the nature of an MPs work and the challenges they face in balancing often competing demands and obligations.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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

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