BLOG | Treaty scrutiny: addressing the accountability gap In this guest blog, chair of @HLIntAgreements Lord Goldsmith KC outlines the Committee’s new report calling for stronger parliamentary oversight of treaties. Read the blog post below 🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/treaty-...

Our briefing breaks down: • Day 1 highlights & why they matter today • Who’s speaking in today’s debate • Key motions & amendments for decision • What a possible select committee could mean for the #AssistedDying Bill’s next stages buff.ly/yQo0MBe

It's a big day for the #AssistedDying Bill as the House of Lords decides on its Second Reading. Thanks to @politico.eu for sharing our briefing on today’s speakers, votes & amendments in their London Playbook newsletter. Link to the briefing is in the post below. 👇

UPDATE - Assisted dying bill: what will happen at tomorrow's debate? Following a compromise deal to establish a select committee to consider the bill, we've updated our blog on what to expect at tomorrow's debate. Read below🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/assiste...

🧵NEWS re the assisted dying bill. @politico.eu's London Playbook newsletter reported earlier that a deal was being negotiated between Lord Falconer (the BIll's sponsor in the Lords) & Baroness Berger who had tabled 2 motions to commit the Bill to a select committee if it gets a 2nd Reading on Friday

Amid all the Westminster drama, vital decisions shaping our daily lives are flying under the radar. Our impartial @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters Bulletin cuts through the noise - spotlighting what really happens in Parliament every week. Stay informed. Read & subscribe now👇

Scandals, resignations, reshuffles grab headlines. But what will really affect all our lives is what Parliament is actually doing - new laws, policy, spending. Our impartial Parliament Matters Bulletin keeps the focus on Westminster’s work each week. 👇

Departure of Powell means we'll be onto the 11th Leader of the Commons since the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster programme programme started (Oct 2012) and with no actual decision on when the work will start and how it should be done #WestminsterRR

Watch this space 👀 … I wouldn’t be surprised if Parliament is prorogued just before the local elections. That way the Govt can swiftly pivot to the King’s Speech and a new legislative programme in the week after what might be bruising election results.

Help us reform delegated legislation, strengthen parliamentary democracy… and yes, as a Trustee, you kind of get to be my boss as well! 😉 Apply to join the Hansard Society Board. More details here 👉 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/about/career...

How will the House of Lords handle the #AssistedDying Bill? Our latest podcast unpacks the unwritten rules, key players & likely twists as it heads for 2nd reading next month. Follow Parliament Matters in your favourite podcast app to keep track of future developments.

🧵1/ Something appears to have gone wrong with a new piece of legislation (and shows why even Government departments should be using our Statutory Instrument Tracker!) Here's what happened 👇

Three and a half hours and still stuck in the hospital car park..it's like a bad dream. And others have been here longer. How many staff could not get in or out this afternoon? How many appointments have been lost. How many people's treatment has been affected? Complete disgrace

🧵Traffic chaos outside Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford today is a complete disgrace. Ambulances have been stuck unable to get in or out. Cars trapped in the hospital car park for over two hours due to total gridlock caused by minor roadworks on the main access road - with no traffic management...

🔔 MONDAY ALERT: What’s on Parliament’s agenda today? ❓ PM will be grilled by the Liaison Committee of select committee chairs 🇯🇵 MPs mark 80 years since Victory over Japan 🔴 Lords debate Renters' Rights, Employment Rights & Hereditary Peers Bills 🔽 buff.ly/V2K6kZj

📣 Tomorrow: Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces questions from the House of Commons Liaison Committee. Will select committee chairs press him on the super-injunction and the Ministry of Defence data breach? Stay tuned – this is an important test of parliamentary accountability.

Today will be written up as Govt chaos, but it should also be a wake up call 1. Parliament matters 2. MPs are not lobby fodder 3. Govts should not hardwire symbolic intentions and fiscal rules into law 4. The way our laws are made is not fit for purpose in a 21st century economy

Excellent post about House of Lords reform. Peers have consistently urged successive Governments to reduce the size of the House, to no avail. This is a rare legislative opportunity - if not now, when?

There's a debate on an unspecified Statutory Instrument related to terrorism on Wed. The procedure is explained in our Parliament Matters Bulletin. It's the 3rd item of main business after MPs vote for an Armed Forces Commissioner & to keep a standing army! www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam...

A big week ahead at Westminster: 📌 Key vote on disability benefits 📌 House of Lords reform bill 📌 Chagos Islands deal: will Peers oppose ratification? 📌 And MPs must vote to keep a standing army for another year! Follow all the action in the Chamber and on the Committee corridor 👇

This was a really interesting - and fun - discussion. Sarah, on the comparison between GP surgeries and MP surgeries: I thought it was extraordinary how similar my surgeries were.... except nobody took their clothes off! Also good on Select Cmtts, Treasury power & rebellion

The Government cramming Committee, Report & 3rd Reading into 1 day the week after 2nd Reading (so much for intervals between stages...) means if they pull the Bill they will have 2 days of Commons business to fill. But of greater concern is that this timetable has important implications for...

🎙️ New episode alert! A landmark moment: the #AssistedDying bill clears the Commons. Our procedural guru @courtenayilbert.bsky.social joins us to unpack the politics, process & next steps in the House of Lords. Listen now!

If you're watching the Spending Review statement today, our latest explainer unpicks what will happen in Parliament.

🚨 BRIEFING: Assisted dying bill - What will happen this Friday? This explainer clarifies details of the Bill's next day of debate, including: • What happened on the last day? • Which amendments can still be voted on, and when? • Will the House vote on Third Reading? buff.ly/BUfwNMJ

The @commonsspeaker.parliament.uk will not be amused. Announced at 12 noon via a Treasury press release 30 minutes after the deadline for Urgent Questions for today. Presumably there will be a Ministerial Statement? What reason will be given this time for not telling MPs first?

If the Opposition genuinely want ministers to make statements to the House of Commons before speaking to the media, they should use a future Opposition Day to propose a motion enshrining the requirement. At the moment it's a requirement of the Govts Ministerial Code, not a House of Commons rule.

The Speaker’s calls. The key votes. A tetchy debate. This week’s #ParliamentMatters podcast breaks down the drama behind the #AssistedDying Bill’s progress. 🎧 Tune in now.

TUESDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today? 🔵 Conservative Opposition Day debate 🇪🇺 Product Regulation and Metrology Bill begins Committee Stage 👑 Senior Tories to be introduced as Peers 💼 Lords debate Employment Rights Bill in Committee Read below 🔽 buff.ly/5u7btLF

Next Friday (16 May) the #AssistedDying bill returns to the House of Commons chamber. So we sat down with @kimleadbeatermp.bsky.social to discuss the state of play with the Bill and what further amendments she thinks are still needed. 🎧 Tune in now: buff.ly/GAExxWv

🚨 New Parliament Matters We talk to @kimleadbeatermp.bsky.social as the #AssistedDying bill approaches a critical stage in Parliament. We discuss: ▪️her new amendments ▪️changes already made to the Bill ▪️the Impact Assessment ▪️parliamentary scheduling of the Bill 🎧 Tune in now: buff.ly/GAExxWv

🗞️ What’s happening in Parliament next week? 📩 Sign up now to get the full Parliament Matters Bulletin in your inbox every Sunday at 12 noon. buff.ly/c2Wf3x5 📸 Here's a quick look at what's inside today's edition ⬇️

WEDNESDAY:What's coming up in Parliament today? 🧑‍⚖️ Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill (Report Stage) 🇺🇲 Lib Dem MPs present bills to require parliamentary approval of free trade deals 🔋 Lords consider slavery & trafficking provisions for Great British Energy Bill buff.ly/cIGegwi

🚨 NEW: The assisted dying bill faces its next parliamentary hurdle on 16 May: Report Stage. In this episode, we discuss: • how amendments are selected, grouped and voted on; • how the debate is structured; and • the challenges the Bill might face. 🎧 Tune in now: buff.ly/Euj0A6B

MONDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today? ⚽ Football Governance Bill 🏠 Peers debate Renters' Rights Bill 🪖 Public Accounts Committee hearing on defence equipment 🐕 E-petition debate about animal testing buff.ly/XJAMlsY

Topical parliamentary fact of the day: You have to go all the way back to February 1939, when Pope Pius XI died, to find the last time the House of Commons was sitting within four days of a Pope’s death. Since then? Every time a Pope has died, Parliament has...

WEEKEND CATCH-UP: What happens when Parliament's 'silent' Chief Whip decides to speak? Simon Hart shares jaw-dropping stories in 'Ungovernable' and calls for an overhaul in how MPs are recruited. 🎙️ Tune in to our latest #WhippingYarn buff.ly/DYLn9uv

🧵MPs have approved the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill at 3rd reading and it has now gone to the Lords. Committee stage lasted only a few minutes because the 2pm cut off time set out in the Business of the House motion agreed at the start of the sitting was reached.

🧵Quick thread on some parliamentary procedural issues to note in the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill. It will delegate considerable power to Ministers to issue "Directions" to a steel undertaking. These "Directions" will not be subject to any future formal parliamentary scrutiny process.

🧵 Journalists keep saying this morning that it’s rare for a Bill to pass through Parliament in a single day. That’s worth unpicking. 👇

Parliament is being recalled tomorrow to pass legislation to protect British Steel. This will be the 34th time the House of Commons has been recalled and the 33rd time the House of Lords has been recalled since the current rules were introduced in 1947.

🧵1/ A key question now: will @kimleadbeatermp.bsky.social schedule 3rd Reading of the #AssistedDying Bill right after Report Stage on 16 May—or hold it later on 13 June? Why does this matter? Because it affects when MPs make their final decision. 👇

THURSDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today? 🌐 Debate on impact of digital platforms on democracy ⚽ Debate on access to sport and PE in schools 💰 Public Accounts Committee hearing on local government finances Read below🔽 buff.ly/gAGZAVq

🚨 MPs are debating the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill for the first time. Sounds dry? It’s not. This Bill will give considerable law-making powers to Ministers with little parliamentary oversight. Here’s why that matters… 🧵

THURSDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today? ☘️ Debate on St Patrick's Day and Northern Irish affairs 🔟 Debate on the 10th anniversary of the Modern Slavery Act 💼 Peers debate Employment Rights Bill (Second Reading) Read more🔽 buff.ly/w29T2Oa

🚨 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

WEDNESDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today? 📉 Chancellor will give her Spring Statement 🚭 MPs will vote on whether to pass the Tobacco and Vapes Bill ⚽ Lords vote on passage of Football Governance Bill Read more🔽 buff.ly/zRfYgkG

The Government recently signed an Order to delay elections in nine local authorities, in advance of their reorganisation. This evening, the House of Lords is voting on whether to annul (cancel) the Order. However, no similar vote will occur in the Commons. But why not?🧵

"We are innovating here with both this new proposed treatment, assisted suicide, also in the way we do legislation and I regret that we're not doing it in a way that actually restores people's confidence in Parliament." Danny Kruger MP on the #assisteddying Bill. 🎧 Listen: buff.ly/l2x7TiM