Is the Football Governance Bill being filibustered in the House of Lords? Did the House of Commons just vote for electoral reform and proportional representation as the Liberal Democrats claim? And what are your fantasy parliamentary reforms? Welcome to a landmark episode of Parliament Matters - for the first time, we are recording in front of a live audience at the 60th anniversary conference of the Study of Parliament Group.
We have traded the studio for the heart of Westminster, immersing ourselves in a gathering of parliamentary aficionados, seasoned practitioners, and self-proclaimed political anoraks. Over the course of two days, this dedicated group - of which Ruth and Mark are long-standing members - is diving into spirited discussions and debates on the past, present, and future of parliamentary reform.
We kick off with the Football Governance Bill, born from the Tracy Crouch fan-led review, which sought to safeguard the English football pyramid’s financial stability after crises like the European Super League debacle. Now in the House of Lords, the Bill faces delays and accusations of filibustering.
Ruth explains the key issues, including definitions of “sustainability” and “English football,” which are left to ministerial regulation rather than the face of the Bill - much to the frustration of opposition peers. Paul unpacks the concept of hybridity, a procedural pitfall that could derail the bill, and we learn how this relates to broader debates about parliamentary process and regulatory overreach.
Next, we turn to a rare parliamentary moment: a 10-Minute Rule Bill introduced by Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney proposed proportional representation for elections. Unusually the right to bring in the bill was put to a formal vote this week. However, the bill’s chances of progression are slim, as it’s been relegated to the “legislative gulag” of backbench bills unlikely to see further debate.
With the newly established House of Commons Modernisation Committee inviting ideas for its agenda, we discuss our own “fantasy” parliamentary reforms. Paul pitches his bold “Festival of the Estimates,” an initiative to engage MPs and the public in substantive discussions about taxation, public spending and the trade-offs involved.
We then turn to our audience for a Q&A session on topics including whether we should have an “investiture vote” for new Prime Ministers, let experts rather than MPs question the Government on its Budget, give Select Committees more powers and restore the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
Paul Evans worked as a Clerk in the House of Commons for nearly forty years, retiring in 2019 as Clerk of Committees responsible for the House's select committees. He was made a CBE in 2019 for services to Parliament. During his career in the House of Commons he held a number of posts including Clerk of the Journals and Principal Clerk of the Table Office.
He is a member of the Hansard Society and was Chair of the Study of Parliament Group from 2003-05. He has published a number of works on Parliament including the Dods Handbook of House of Commons Procedure.
Evans, P. (5 September 2024), MPs and the parliamentary oath of allegiance: A shibboleth under scrutiny? (Hansard Society blog)
Evans, P. (15 October 2023), Hybrid Bills and Parliament: History, procedure and controversies (Hansard Society blog)
England, M. and Fox, R. (15 October 2023), HS2 fiasco: What does it mean for Parliament? (Hansard Society blog)
Hansard Society (2023), The Estimates: A procedural and constitutional guide (Hansard Society: London)
Hansard Society (2022), What is a Ten Minute Rule Bill? (Hansard Society: London)
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[00:00:00] Intro: You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society production, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/PM.
[00:00:17] Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy, Parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox.
[00:00:25] Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy. Coming up this week.
[00:00:28] Ruth Fox: Offside. Is the Football Governance Bill being filibustered in the House of Lords?
[00:00:32] Mark D'Arcy: Has the Commons just voted for electoral reform and proportional representation?
[00:00:37] Ruth Fox: Spoiler, not really. But what are your fantasy parliamentary reforms?
[00:00:51] Mark D'Arcy: But before we start, this is a special edition of the pod. It's a first for us because we're recording before a live audience at the 60th anniversary conference of the Study of Parliament Group. The uber parliamentary nerds, the practitioners, the anoraks here in Westminster. So listeners, you may hear a slightly less manicured version of the podcast than usual.
[00:01:09] But joining us is former Commons Clerk Paul Evans, whose job is to inject an extra dose of parliamentary wisdom into the discussions. So, Ruth and Paul, first of all, the Football Governance Bill. Now, this is intended to follow on from the Tracy Crouch review of the state of football that happened quite a while ago now.
[00:01:27] It actually started life as a bill under the Conservatives. The incoming Labour government picked it up, slightly reversioned it here and there, and it's now in the House of Lords, where proceedings are going very, very slowly. So, Ruth, what exactly is going on behind this?
[00:01:42] Ruth Fox: So, Mark, this is the bill to essentially regulate football, the top tiers of English football.
[00:01:48] Those of you with memories will perhaps recall, even if you're not interested in football, will perhaps recall that there was a breakaway attempt by Premier League clubs to form the European Super League, which prompted Tracey Crouch's review, and then there was problems in communities, towns across the country where football clubs are facing prospective closure.
[00:02:08] And it was decided politically that there was a need to introduce a regulator and deal with the funding of the football pyramid. So this bill brings together two of my favorite subjects, football and delegated legislation.
[00:02:21] Mark D'Arcy: It doesn't get much better than that.
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