We’re kicking off our annual weekend with a panel on Gender and Diversity Sensitive Parliaments and Politics.
This panel will consider how members with different backgrounds, expertise and identities experience parliament differently and with what impacts?
studyofparliamentgroup.org/programme/
![Ruth Fox: Yeah and just going back to that question of the state of the public finances, I'm gonna speculate that one decision that will not be made probably by Parliament, before Christmas, but really ought to be is the future of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster. Again, another theme that we keep revisiting. We have been told in statement after statement that a vote will be held on the future of the restoration and renewal program, and whether or not MPs and peers are going to leave the Palace of Westminster to enable the refurbishment work to take place over a number of years or not, or whether there'll be a partial decant, the Lords will move out and the Commons will move into the Lords. So a number of different scenarios are in play. We are promised that there will be a report and a vote by the end of this year. But given that the leader of the House of [00:37:00] Commons and a key figure on the restoration and renewal governance side has recently changed, of course, once Lucy Powell was removed from cabinet and replaced by the then Chief Whip Officer Alan Campbell. I do rather think that, that again could be kicked into the long grass a bit further.
Mark D'Arcy: It's one of these things where they keep promising there'll be a debate in due course and a report in due course, and then it doesn't appear and it's just kicked, as you say, further and further into the long grass.
And in the meantime, the Palace of Westminster is essentially being held together with spit and sawdust and running repairs. And there's a risk of fire or some structural collapse and bits of gargoyle falling on people, sewers, whatever it might be, breaking, the sewers bubbling up. I would say that that turns the place into a living metaphor and all sorts of disasters could befall it.
And of course, when you have the state opening of Parliament, just imagine what would happen if the lights went out in the middle of that, leaving His Majesty stranded in darkness as …](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wqg5mu5hw5q55lofaod6u32s/bafkreicabblezucuqrjq3mwa3jkvmepvucn3vckvcldwwdar7dnrlxwep4@jpeg)
Ruth Fox: Yeah and just going back to that question of the state of the public finances, I'm gonna speculate that one decision that will not be made probably by Parliament, before Christmas, but really ought to be is the future of the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster. Again, another theme that we keep revisiting. We have been told in statement after statement that a vote will be held on the future of the restoration and renewal program, and whether or not MPs and peers are going to leave the Palace of Westminster to enable the refurbishment work to take place over a number of years or not, or whether there'll be a partial decant, the Lords will move out and the Commons will move into the Lords. So a number of different scenarios are in play. We are promised that there will be a report and a vote by the end of this year. But given that the leader of the House of [00:37:00] Commons and a key figure on the restoration and renewal governance side has recently changed, of course, once Lucy Powell was removed from cabinet and replaced by the then Chief Whip Officer Alan Campbell. I do rather think that, that again could be kicked into the long grass a bit further. Mark D'Arcy: It's one of these things where they keep promising there'll be a debate in due course and a report in due course, and then it doesn't appear and it's just kicked, as you say, further and further into the long grass. And in the meantime, the Palace of Westminster is essentially being held together with spit and sawdust and running repairs. And there's a risk of fire or some structural collapse and bits of gargoyle falling on people, sewers, whatever it might be, breaking, the sewers bubbling up. I would say that that turns the place into a living metaphor and all sorts of disasters could befall it. And of course, when you have the state opening of Parliament, just imagine what would happen if the lights went out in the middle of that, leaving His Majesty stranded in darkness as …
Love an R&R shout out on the @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters pod - and completely agree with @ruthfox.bsky.social & @darcyxtip.bsky.social about the prospect of getting the promised vote before the end of 2025. Listen/transcript www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam... #WestminsterRR
17.10.2025 07:53 — 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Yesterday, I chatted to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social of the @hansardsociety.bsky.social about what Parliament could do about Prince Andrew... you can listen to the Podcast at this link... pod.link/1714627828/e...
24.10.2025 15:36 — 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Thanks to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social @hansardsociety.bsky.social for picking up on Meg Russell's oral evidence with @marcgeddes.uk and @stephenholdenbates.bsky.social this week.
She highlighted the lack of transparency around select committee member elections.
Listen 👇
Trying to make sense of the China spy case? Join @profmarkelliott.bsky.social, @ruthfox.bsky.social & @darcyxtip.bsky.social on our Parliament Matters podcast as they unpack the key issues and what they mean for Parliament.
🎧 New episode out tomorrow. Listen and subscribe here: pod.link/1714627828
🎙️ Here's my @hansardsociety.bsky.social podcast with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social on 'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street' and ex-PMs in Parliament.
😊 Also do check out Theresa May's important Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in the resources section.
#Thatcher100
🚨 Unlike some of her more recent successors, Margaret Thatcher was keen to retain a parliamentary seat after Downing Street.
🎧 I discussed this with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social in a recent @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters podcast.
#Thatcher #Thatcher100
8/
The era of two-party politics is over
The Government faces an uphill struggle to win back voters, says @darcyxtip.bsky.social
🚨 I was delighted to discuss all things former Prime Ministers and Parliament - including 'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street' - with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social.
⬇️ Check out our conversation below.
#Thatcher100 #Thatcher #ParliamentAfterDowningStreet #ExPremiers
It was great to talk about all things PMQs with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social on @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters!
We discuss why France and Canada have experimented with PMQs, and why it may be time to retire the ‘engagements’ question.
youtu.be/OtpApR3fNQE?...
🎙️ NEW EPISODE: 1642: The King marches on Parliament. Soldiers at the Commons door. A failed arrest becomes a turning point in parliamentary history.
Historian @jonathanhealey.bsky.social tell us the gripping story in The Blood in Winter.
🎧 Listen now: buff.ly/JqOi8xH
"I think it would be a bit perverse if the Lords did not put more into this bill... And if the House of Commons says no, then fine, it is over. But actually this bill pinged through the House of Commons in an afternoon. There was hardly any debate on it. If you put in front of MPs 'shall we make the House of Lords smaller' I think they probably would have happily voted to do so... Our poll actually shows that, if they did that, they would have the public on their side." Professor Meg Russell FBA. Director of the Constitution Unit. 'Labour's welfare meltdown', Parliament Matters (4 July 2025). The Constitution Unit.
Meg Russell is on the latest episode of Parliament Matters from @hansardsociety.bsky.social with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social.
She discusses the hereditary peers bill and our new opinion polling.
Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/2f59c4.
See our opinion polling 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....
'Parliamentarians should seize this opportunity now to implement a reform that has been decades (even centuries) in the making. I hope our poll offers them the confidence to do so.'
Meg Russell writes for @uk.theconversation.com ahead of the hereditary peers bill being debated today.
Read it 👇
TUESDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today?
♿ MPs debate Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
💰 Chancellor answers oral questions from MPs
🏠 Peers debate Renters' Rights Bill
Read more🔽
buff.ly/0QTloAB
A Labour MP comments
01.07.2025 07:38 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0Peers would have “overwhelming” public support if they used the govt’s bill to exclude the last hereditaries to push for wider reform to the House of Lords… according to UCL’s Constitution Unit
30.06.2025 06:33 — 👍 7 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
🚨 QUESTIONS REQUEST🚨
Do you have a burning question about how Parliament works? Or why it doesn't!
@Darcyxtip.bsky.social and I
are back in the Parliament Matters studio to answer your questions tomorrow.
Use the link or reply below
⬇️hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
🚨 A new #ParliamentMatters podcast episode drops tomorrow morning!
We dive into the latest on the #AssistedDying Bill with Danny Kruger MP who has been a leading figure in the Bill Committee. He tells us what the experience has been like and what he thinks may happen next.
⬇️
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social about the New Zealand experience with assisted dying. An excellent discussion - but boy, do I talk fast! 🫢
podfollow.com/parliamentma...
The Hansard record from yesterday's public bill committee on the assisted dying bill is now online.
The committee's public discussion of the sittings motion, including witnesses, was far more extensive than for any other bill I remember. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
👇Our latest episode about all things Westminster, including why I'm annoyed with the Government's response to the e-petition calling for a general election & the House of Lords tongue twister used to test @darcyxtip.bsky.social & other presenters of Today in Parliament on BBC Radio 4!
10.01.2025 12:05 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
It's a busy start to the new parliamentary year. @darcyxtip.bsky.social & I will probably be discussing Elon Musk's impact on the parliamentary agenda, the debate on the petition for a general election and how new MPs are using Parliamentary Questions.
But do send us your questions as well! 👇
This has to be the most dishonest reporting of an opinion poll I've ever seen
The survey actually found that over two thirds of voters *do not* think Starmer will be out of No 10 within a year.
This is extremely shoddy poll reporting.
05.01.2025 09:24 — 👍 163 🔁 28 💬 15 📌 3
Hansard Society backdrop to Ruth and me sitting with headphones on at table with large microphones in front of us. Ruth is holding a copy of a book, Necessary Women
As other photo plus Mark sitting on left
Very pleased to record Parliament Matters podcast today with @ruthfox.bsky.social @darcyxtip.bsky.social sharing stories from #NecessaryWomen! Out tomorrow
19.12.2024 13:50 — 👍 16 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0
Our 60th Anniversary Conference kicks off today. We have panels on parliament and the executive & the membership of both Houses 🟢🔴
We are also hosting a live recording of the Parliament Matters podcast w/ @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social 🎙️
studyofparliamentgroup.org/2024/10/09/s...
Thank you Alain. I nearly fell off my chair laughing when @darcyxtip.bsky.social started to explain.....you don't get cultural references like that on other political podcasts!
It really is so much fun to do Parliament Matters each week.
Our lovely @richardhuzzey.bsky.social has teamed up with Prof. C. Leston-Bandeira, @darcyxtip.bsky.social, @ruthfox.bsky.social and @hansardsociety.bsky.social to create a podcast episode discussing petitions, parliament, and public engagement! Listen here: www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...
29.11.2024 16:28 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
🎙️ After tomorrow's vote, we'll unpack everything in our Parliament Matters podcast! Normally, we’d record today, but @darcyxtip.bsky.social & @ruthfox.bsky.social will hit the studio tomorrow to dissect the day’s events. Look out for their reactions on Saturday.
https://buff.ly/3Z9PBW3
