Parliament Matters: A podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy
About 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.
Assisted dying bill - special series #6: Lessons from New Zealand - A conversation with Prof. Colin Gavaghan
Episode 79 (7 March 2025)
In this sixth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we continue to track the progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. This episode looks into developments in the Bill Committee this week, where scrutiny of the legislation has intensified. And we speak with Professor Colin Gavaghan about how New Zealand legislated for assisted dying.
Net Zero and National Security: How can Parliament hold the Government to account?
Episode 78 (7 March 2025)
How will Parliament hold the Government accountable for its Net Zero commitments? With the Climate Change Committee publishing its recommendations for the Seventh Carbon Budget, we talk to Toby Perkins MP, Chair of Parliament’s Net Zero watchdog, the Environmental Audit Committee. We also explore the Government’s controversial decision to block National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell from testifying before Parliament. Finally, Simon Hart, former Chief Whip, shares revelations from his political diaries and warns that parties must better prepare MPs for the pressures of modern politics.
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Mark and Ruth will be answering questions from listeners on all things Parliament during each show.
Learn more and send us your questions online via the button below.
The podcast is produced with initial support from JRCT, a Quaker trust which engages in philanthropy and supports work on democratic accountability.
Assisted dying bill - special series #5: Inside the Public Bill Committee - A conversation with Kit Malthouse MP
Episode 77 (28 February 2025)
In this fifth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we take you back inside the Public Bill Committee for the latest updates as MPs continue their scrutiny of the assisted dying bill. This week we speak with Kit Malthouse MP, a co-sponsor of the Bill and a key voice in the Committee’s deliberations.
International aid cuts: What is Parliament’s role?
Episode 76 (28 February 2025)
Parliament passed a law requiring the Government to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on international aid. So, should Ministers be able to bypass that legal obligation through a ministerial statement? We also discuss Labour MP Mike Amesbury’s suspended jail sentence and how a recall petition will be called if he doesn’t voluntarily step down. Plus, we explore the controversy surrounding the Product Safety and Metrology Bill, which Brexiteers warn could stealthily realign Britain with the EU while handing Ministers sweeping legislative powers.
Why is it so difficult to reform parliaments?
Episode 75 (21 February 2025)
In this episode, we talk to Greg Power, author of Inside the Political Mind: The Human Side of Politics and How it Shapes Development. Drawing on his experience as a special advisor to Commons Leaders Robin Cook and Peter Hain, as well as his work with parliaments worldwide, Greg explains how institutional culture, political incentives, and the personal interests of MPs often derail reform efforts.
Assisted dying bill - special series #4: Inside the Public Bill Committee - A conversation with Sarah Olney MP
Episode 74 (14 February 2025)
Assisted dying bill - special series #3: Understanding the amendment process
Episode 72 (7 February 2025)
Assisted dying bill - special series #2: How the Bill was drafted - A conversation with Dame Elizabeth Gardiner
Episode 71 (31 January 2025)
Assisted dying bill - special series #1: Money, sittings and witnesses
Episode 68 (24 January 2025)
Should Parliament, rather than Ministers, oversee public inquiries?
Episode 67 (17 January 2025)
The 'Musk Factor': Is the world's richest man driving Parliament's agenda?
Episode 66 (10 January 2025)
Whipping Yarns: A rebel Whip's tale - A conversation with former MP Steve Baker
Episode 65 (6 January 2025)
Whipping Yarns: An SNP Whip's tale - A conversation with former MP Patrick Grady
Episode 64 (3 January 2025)
Whipping Yarns: A Liberal Democrat Whip's tale - A conversation with Alistair Carmichael MP
Episode 63 (30 December 2024)
Parliament's role in a failed state: A conversation with Sam Freedman
Episode 62 (23 December 2024)
Licence to scrutinise: spooks, hereditary peers and assisted dying
Episode 60 (13 December 2024)
Football governance, fair elections, and fantasy reforms: Parliament Matters goes live!
Episode 59 (6 December 2024)
How will Donald Trump's return reverberate in the UK Parliament?
Episode 53 (8 November 2024)
Urgent Questions: Answering your questions about how Parliament works
Episode 52 (6 November 2024)
Budget rules explained, parliamentary etiquette tips, and Layla Moran MP gears up for action as Health and Social Care Committee chair
Episode 50 (25 October 2024)
Select Committee chair elections: who won and can they work together?
Episode 47 (13 September 2024)
Inside the Private Members' Bill Ballot: 20 MPs win the legislative lottery
Episode 46 (6 September 2024)
Inside the hidden world of law-making: A conversation with Nikki da Costa
Episode 45 (16 August 2024)
Supermajority vs. micro-opposition: Parliament after the general election?
Episode 39 (28 June 2024)
Democratic decision-making in health emergencies: Learning the lessons of the Covid pandemic
Episode 37 (31 May 2024)
Is AI set to destroy trust in elections? Tackling misinformation in politics & Parliament, with top fact checker Full Fact's Chris Morris
Episode 32 (30 April 2024)
Rwanda Bill becomes law: but what was really going on behind the scenes in Parliament?
Episode 31 (26 April 2024)
Tobacco and Vapes Bill: free vote blows smoke in Rishi Sunak's eyes
Episode 30 (19 April 2024)
William Wragg's honeytrap crisis, and is Speaker Hoyle under threat?
Episode 29 (12 April 2024)
Defending free speech from SLAPPs: MP Wayne David on his Private Member's Bill
Episode 28 (28 March 2024)
The Budget: is the democratic deficit as bad as the financial deficit? How Parliament handles money
Episode 25 (7 March 2024)
The Foreign Affairs Committee: commentator or influencer? A conversation with Alicia Kearns MP
Episode 24 (4 March 2024)
![The Rt Hon Liz Truss MP giving a speech, 7 October 2020. © Number 10 [Flickr] / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED](https://images.ctfassets.net/n4ncz0i02v4l/5ELuvfB30ceMqN69KFu0yi/43c2e78b71235950ffaf59e6c49e2f46/-PMP.E23-_Banner_Image__1920x1080_.png?fm=avif&fit=fill&q=60&w=1920&h=1080&f=center)
The Commons Speaker survives (for now), Liz Truss takes on the ‘Deep State’, plus how do we detoxify politics?
Episode 23 (1 March 2024)
![The Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP is interviewed by Andrew Neil on new TV news channel GB News, 16 June 2021. © HM Treasury [Flickr] / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED](https://images.ctfassets.net/n4ncz0i02v4l/2tyF0kqda1Z6FDOynk98wJ/b7025844cd4c9688253dd47f7a8d458b/-PMP.E22-_Banner_image__1920x1080_.png?fm=avif&fit=fill&q=60&w=1920&h=1080&f=center)
The decline and fall of the political interview: A discussion with Rob Burley
Episode 22 (27 February 2024)
Commons chaos: Can the Speaker survive a monumental misjudgement?
Episode 21 (22 February 2024)
![The Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, at Prime Minister's Questions, 25 October 2023. ©UK Parliament/Maria Unger [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED]](https://images.ctfassets.net/n4ncz0i02v4l/2Xo0Fx0vmNmal6cvsC6BNn/06a1aad81fd21d3c52b786cb21514979/-PMP.E20-_Banner_image_v2__1920x1080_.jpg?fm=avif&fit=fill&q=60&w=1934&h=1032&f=center)
Urgent Questions: We answer your questions about how Parliament works
Episode 20 (15 February 2024)
What if they gave a coup and nobody came? The Tory leadership soap opera continued
Episode 17 (26 January 2024)
War powers, Rwanda ‘mayhem’ and Ian Dunt on the state of Westminster
Episode 16 (19 January 2024)
The inside story: Parliament and the Post Office Horizon scandal
Episode 15 (12 January 2024)
Election alert and the year ahead in Parliament: Why are so many election rules being changed?
Episode 14 (5 January 2024)
Michael Crick & Tomorrow’s MPs: The latest news on parliamentary candidate selections
Episode 12 (29 December 2024)
Is Parliament a decaying organism? Lord Lisvane on our crumbling constitution
Episode 10 (22 December 2023)
‘These guys like to be written about’: The art of parliamentary sketchwriting, with Rob Hutton
Episode 9 (18 December 2023)
High drama or damp squib?… And what’s happening with pairing?
Episode 8 (15 December 2024)
Westenders: The battle for the heart and soul of the Conservative Party
Episode 7 (8 December 2023)
Total reshuffle, emergency legislation and Parliament’s ‘Golden Ticket’
Episode 4 (17 November 2023)
All change on the Committee corridor and regulating the conduct and standards of MPs
Episode 2 (12 November 2023)
Introducing: Parliament Matters – A new podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy
Trailer (3 November 2023)
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