Navigated to Parliament Matters

Parliament Matters

Hansard Society
Weekly podcast. Next episode on Friday.

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.



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.

87 episodes  •  0 archived  •  
S1 E85
Assisted dying bill - special series #9: Inside the Public Bill Committee
S1 E85·
March 28
March 28
30 mins
S1 E84
Spring Statement: House of Commons tensions grow over the economy
S1 E84·
March 28
March 28
55 mins
S1 E83
Assisted dying bill - special series #8: Inside the Public Bill Committee
S1 E83·
March 21
March 21
35 mins
S1 E82
Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement: The fallout at Westminster
S1 E82·
March 21
March 21
55 mins
S1 E81
Assisted dying bill - special series #7: Inside the Public Bill Committee
S1 E81·
March 14
March 14
20 mins
S1 E80
Planning and infrastructure: Should Parliament take more control?
S1 E80·
March 14
March 14
44 mins
S1 E79
Assisted dying bill - special series #6: Lessons from New Zealand
S1 E79·
March 7
March 7
33 mins
S1 E78
Net Zero and National Security: How can Parliament hold the Government to account?
S1 E78·
March 7
March 7
55 mins
S1 E77
Assisted dying bill - special series #5: Inside the Public Bill Committee
S1 E77·
February 28
February 28
27 mins
S1 E76
International aid cuts: What is Parliament's role?
S1 E76·
February 28
February 28
45 mins
S1 E75
Why is it so difficult to reform parliaments?
S1 E75·
February 21
February 21
37 mins
S1 E74
Assisted dying bill - special series #4: Inside the Public Bill Committee
S1 E74·
February 14
February 14
36 mins
S1 E73
A WhatsApp purge in Parliament?
S1 E73·
February 14
February 14
47 mins
S1 E72
Assisted dying bill - special series #3: Understanding the amendment process
S1 E72·
February 7
February 7
54 mins
S1 E71
Assisted dying bill - special series #2: How the Bill was drafted
S1 E71·
January 31
January 31
44 mins
S1 E70
Welfare cap breached by £8.6 billion: Do MPs care?
S1 E70·
January 31
January 31
40 mins
S1 E69
A withering select committee takedown
S1 E69·
January 24
January 24
40 mins
S1 E68
Assisted Dying Bill: Special Series #1
S1 E68·
January 24
January 24
21 mins
S1 E67
Should Parliament, rather than Ministers, oversee public inquiries?
S1 E67·
January 17
January 17
39 mins
S1 E66
The ‘Musk Factor’: Is the world's richest man driving Parliament's agenda?
S1 E66·
January 10
January 10
40 mins
S1 E65
Whipping yarns: A rebel whip’s tale
S1 E65·
January 6
January 6
41 mins
S1 E64
Whipping yarns: An SNP Whip’s tale
S1 E64·
January 3
January 3
29 mins
S1 E63
Whipping Yarns: A Liberal Democrat whip’s tale
S1 E63·
Dec 30, 2024
Dec 30, 2024
34 mins
S1 E62
Parliament’s role in a failed state
S1 E62·
Dec 23, 2024
Dec 23, 2024
29 mins
S1 E61
Will Parliament pay a price for promises to WASPI women?
S1 E61·
Dec 20, 2024
Dec 20, 2024
1h 7m
S1 E60
Licence to scrutinise: Spooks, hereditary peers and assisted dying
S1 E60·
Dec 13, 2024
Dec 13, 2024
50 mins
S1 E59
Football governance, fair elections, and fantasy reforms Parliament Matters goes live!
S1 E59·
Dec 6, 2024
Dec 6, 2024
1h 7m
S1 E58
How a British student has schooled the US Congress
S1 E58·
Dec 3, 2024
Dec 3, 2024
22 mins
S1 E57
Assisted Dying Bill passes Second Reading: What next?
S1 E57·
Nov 29, 2024
Nov 29, 2024
57 mins
S1 E56
What's the point of petitioning Parliament?
S1 E56·
Nov 22, 2024
Nov 22, 2024
58 mins
S1 E55
The Assisted Dying Bill: Is More Parliamentary Time Needed?
S1 E55·
Nov 15, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
49 mins
S1 E54
The Official Opposition: How to be effective in Parliament
S1 E54·
Nov 12, 2024
Nov 12, 2024
44 mins
S1 E53
How will Donald Trump’s return reverberate in the UK Parliament?
S1 E53·
Nov 8, 2024
Nov 8, 2024
52 mins
S1 E52
Urgent Questions: Answering your questions about how Parliament works
S1 E52·
Nov 6, 2024
Nov 6, 2024
22 mins
S1 E51
The Budget: Why aren’t MPs told first?
S1 E51·
Nov 1, 2024
Nov 1, 2024
50 mins
S1 E50
Budget rules explained and parliamentary etiquette tips
S1 E50·
Oct 25, 2024
Oct 25, 2024
1h 6m
S1 E49
The end of hereditary peers in the House of Lords?
S1 E49·
Oct 18, 2024
Oct 18, 2024
55 mins
S1 E48
Electing party leaders: who should decide?
S1 E48·
Oct 11, 2024
Oct 11, 2024
1 hr
S1 E47
Select Committee chair elections: who won and can they work together?
S1 E47·
Sep 13, 2024
Sep 13, 2024
56 mins
S1 E46
Inside the Private Members’ Bill ballot: 20 MPs win the legislative lottery
S1 E46·
Sep 6, 2024
Sep 6, 2024
1h 9m
S1 E45
Inside the hidden world of law-making.
S1 E45·
Aug 16, 2024
Aug 16, 2024
26 mins
S1 E44
£22 billion financial 'black hole': What is Parliament's role?
S1 E44·
Aug 2, 2024
Aug 2, 2024
59 mins
S1 E43
Labour tightens its grip on Parliament
S1 E43·
Jul 27, 2024
Jul 27, 2024
41 mins
S1 E42
What has Keir Starmer got in common with Robert Redford?
S1 E42·
Jul 19, 2024
Jul 19, 2024
1h 9m
S1 E41
New arrivals, absent friends and time-honoured ceremonies
S1 E41·
Jul 12, 2024
Jul 12, 2024
1h 3m
S1 E40
Who will be the stars of the new Parliament?
S1 E40·
Jul 7, 2024
Jul 7, 2024
52 mins
S1 E39
Supermajority vs. micro-opposition: Parliament after the general election?
S1 E39·
Jun 28, 2024
Jun 28, 2024
50 mins
S1 E38
Will the parties reform Westminster?
S1 E38·
Jun 21, 2024
Jun 21, 2024
1h 8m
S1 E37
Democratic decision-making in health emergencies: Learning the lessons of the Covid pandemic
S1 E37·
May 31, 2024
May 31, 2024
28 mins
S1 E36
General election called: What now for Parliament?
S1 E36·
May 24, 2024
May 24, 2024
49 mins
S1 E35
Democracy is in danger, warns Theresa May
S1 E35·
May 17, 2024
May 17, 2024
59 mins
S1 E34
Is the Conservative Party falling apart?
S1 E34·
May 10, 2024
May 10, 2024
1 hr
S1 E33
Post Office Horizon scandal: what is Parliament doing about it?
S1 E33·
May 3, 2024
May 3, 2024
1h 4m
S1 E32
Is AI set to destroy trust in elections? Tackling misinformation in politics & Parliament
S1 E32·
Apr 30, 2024
Apr 30, 2024
27 mins
S1 E31
Rwanda Bill becomes law: but what was really going on behind the scenes in Parliament?
S1 E31·
Apr 26, 2024
Apr 26, 2024
45 mins
S1 E30
Tobacco and Vapes Bill: free vote blows smoke in Rishi Sunak's eyes
S1 E30·
Apr 18, 2024
Apr 18, 2024
51 mins
S1 E29
William Wragg's honeytrap crisis and is Speaker Hoyle under threat?
S1 E29·
Apr 12, 2024
Apr 12, 2024
45 mins
S1 E28
Defending free speech from SLAPPs
S1 E28·
Mar 29, 2024
Mar 29, 2024
16 mins
S1 E27
Another Rwanda roadblock
S1 E27·
Mar 22, 2024
Mar 22, 2024
50 mins
S1 E26
Unheard: the parliamentary snubbing of Diane Abbott
S1 E26·
Mar 15, 2024
Mar 15, 2024
55 mins
S1 E25
The Budget: is the democratic deficit as bad as the financial deficit?
S1 E25·
Mar 8, 2024
Mar 8, 2024
58 mins
S1 E24
The Foreign Affairs Committee: commentator or influencer?
S1 E24·
Mar 4, 2024
Mar 4, 2024
22 mins
S1 E23
The Commons Speaker survives (for now), Liz Truss takes on the ‘Deep State’, plus how do we detoxify politics?
S1 E23·
Mar 1, 2024
Mar 1, 2024
56 mins
S1 E22
The decline and fall of the political interview
S1 E22·
Feb 27, 2024
Feb 27, 2024
28 mins
S1 E21
Commons chaos: Can the Speaker survive a monumental misjudgement?
S1 E21·
Feb 23, 2024
Feb 23, 2024
49 mins
S1 E20
Urgent Questions: PMQs, whipping, Sinn Fein MPs, access to security passes, hospitality facilities in Parliament and much more!
S1 E20·
Feb 16, 2024
Feb 16, 2024
50 mins
S1 E19
Gaffes and grace at PMQs
S1 E19·
Feb 9, 2024
Feb 9, 2024
54 mins
S1 E18
A potty-mouthed Parliament?
S1 E18·
Feb 2, 2024
Feb 2, 2024
44 mins
S1 E17
What if they gave a coup and nobody came? The Tory leadership soap opera continued
S1 E17·
Jan 26, 2024
Jan 26, 2024
1h 7m
S1 E16
War powers, Rwanda ‘mayhem’ and Ian Dunt on the state of Westminster
S1 E16·
Jan 19, 2024
Jan 19, 2024
56 mins
S1 E15
The inside story: Parliament and the Post Office Horizon scandal
S1 E15·
Jan 12, 2024
Jan 12, 2024
52 mins
S1 E14
Election alert and the year ahead in Parliament: Why are so many election rules being changed?
S1 E14·
Jan 5, 2024
Jan 5, 2024
52 mins
S1 E13
Parliament Matters Explains: How does Parliament make laws?
S1 E13·
Jan 2, 2024
Jan 2, 2024
27 mins
S1 E12
Michael Crick & Tomorrow’s MPs: The latest news on parliamentary candidate selections
S1 E12·
Dec 29, 2023
Dec 29, 2023
45 mins
S1 E11
Parliament Matters Explains: What do MPs actually do?
S1 E11·
Dec 27, 2023
Dec 27, 2023
29 mins
S1 E10
Is Parliament a decaying organism? Lord Lisvane on our crumbling constitution
S1 E10·
Dec 22, 2023
Dec 22, 2023
43 mins
S1 E9
‘These guys like to be written about’: The art of parliamentary sketchwriting, with Rob Hutton
S1 E9·
Dec 18, 2023
Dec 18, 2023
10 mins
S1 E8
High drama or damp squib?… And what’s happening with pairing?
S1 E8·
Dec 15, 2023
Dec 15, 2023
43 mins
S1 E7
Westenders: The battle for the heart and soul of the Conservative Party
S1 E7·
Dec 8, 2023
Dec 8, 2023
34 mins
S1 E6
Special feature: The genesis of PARLY, with Tony Grew
S1 E6·
Dec 4, 2023
Dec 4, 2023
8 mins
S1 E6
Legislative bodging: No way to run a chip shop!
S1 E6·
Dec 1, 2023
Dec 1, 2023
51 mins
S1 E5
Parliament’s ‘Wastefinder General’ on the ‘Big Nasties’
S1 E5·
Nov 24, 2023
Nov 24, 2023
37 mins
S1 E4
Total reshuffle, emergency legislation and Parliament’s ‘Golden Ticket’
S1 E4·
Nov 17, 2023
Nov 17, 2023
59 mins
S1 E3
Urgent Questions #1
S1 E3·
Nov 13, 2023
Nov 13, 2023
21 mins
S1 E2
All change on the Committee corridor and regulating the conduct and standards of MPs
S1 E2·
Nov 12, 2023
Nov 12, 2023
29 mins
S1 E1
The King’s Speech, State Opening and the 1922 Committee
S1 E1·
Nov 10, 2023
Nov 10, 2023
47 mins
S1
Introducing: Parliament Matters - The Hansard Society's new podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy
S1·
Nov 1, 2023
Nov 1, 2023
3 mins