The Romans had actual corn laws that distributed subsidised (and eventually) free corn as state welfare. Important parts of Roman history hinge on this and we still use the phrase "bread and circuses" which is a direct reference to this state welfare

🎙️ New episode: What really happens after Budget Day? (Yes — there really are 101 Ways and Means resolutions…) 🧾 How the Budget becomes the Finance Bill 🇪🇺 @lordrickettsp.bsky.social on dynamic alignment with the EU 🔟 More sitting Fridays for the assisted dying bill 🔗 Listen ⤵️ buff.ly/M6S6kdP

THE BUDGET | Now the Budget has been delivered, how will it become law? Our collection of guides explains how Parliament scrutinises the Budget, and includes guides on the following five topics. 🧵 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications...

For Hansard debates on @theyworkforyou.com, we get source XML from @ukparliament.parliament.uk. This includes new data, plus recent corrections. Yesterday, it included XML for 2nd June 2010. What correction would be worth republishing a day from 15 years ago? Correcting “Ian Drury” to “Ian Dury” :)

Facebook commenters discover the joys of episcopal elections

Earlier this year, the Indian Supreme Court "deemed assent" to 10 long-pending Bills where a particular Governor had done nothing. That judgment was scathing in its criticism of the Governor's conduct but its reasoning - the "deeming" of an act the Constitution doesn't assign it - was criticised. 1/

What will happen at tomorrow's Budget? 1️⃣ Chancellor makes her Budget Statement at 12:30pm 2️⃣ Chancellor moves two key Budget motions 3️⃣ Leader of the Opposition responds to Budget 4️⃣ Budget debate begins Our guide explains each stage of the process 🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications...

It's a small step (same-sex couples in EU members without marriage equality can now marry in another member state and have their marriages recognised at home). But it's an important one. A consequence of a supranational system with a strong harmonising interest. Relevant to gender recognition.

On the patently unlawful boat strikes It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes. WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals: 1) CIA General Counsel 2) NSC Legal Adviser 3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer 🧵

BLOGS | With the assisted dying bill due to resume Committee Stage tomorrow, we've just published two new blogposts. The first looks at whether the over 1,000 total amendments proposed is unprecedented... Read below 🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/assiste...

True story: as a child hearing the phrase “think tank” on the news (yes I was a very earnest news-watching child, shut up) I assumed it was a kind of giant swimming pool where people floated about thinking big thoughts. Have worked for a think tank for a decade and still haven’t found the pool

Might pop in for a tour soon, before it all disappears

There are now >5,000 individuals whose ISAs are worth >£1 million. Hardly surprising that Ms Reeves is considering limiting this tax exemption.

🎙️ New episode: The Assisted Dying Bill is at a crunch point in the Lords. (And yes — there really are 900+ amendments). 🗣️ Lord Falconer explains the stakes ⚖️ Scrutiny vs delay 🧪 The contested policy issues 🏛️ Commons–Lords dynamics ⏳ Will it become law? 🔗 Listen ⤵️ buff.ly/mGnRYj8

Good piece by David Aaronovitch on the Prescott dossier: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

When the first Chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee was told “the Government doesn’t want you to do this,” she replied: “I do not serve the Government, I serve the House.” 🎧 Hear the full story — 10 years of petitions and people power. buff.ly/DtFCEsn

🎙️ New episode: Do Petitions Work? 10 years on, we bring together four Chairs of the House of Commons Petitions Committee for a candid conversation about what happens after hundreds of thousands (or sometimes millions) of people click “sign”. 🔗 Listen: buff.ly/DtFCEsn

In November 1867, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, voted in a parliamentary by-election. But how was she able to vote in an election more than fifty years before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918? Dr Kathryn Rix explains:

33. Before a NYC mayor can legally exercise the duties of their office, they must pay $9 to file a written copy of their sworn oath with the City Clerk’s Office. It is payable by credit card or money order.

28. The Roman Catholic church on Tristan Da Cunha in the South Atlantic, St Joseph’s, has no resident priest. So the hosts are consecrated in a 4000-strong batch during the annual visit of their Ecclesiastical Superior and kept in tupperware. (The Anglican church does have a resident priest)

It’s really funny how quickly the opposition’s attendance in the Lords diminishes in the evening.

🚨 On Remembrance Sunday, a reminder of something 'a little delicate' from 1975, featuring the placings of Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath at the Cenotaph. #RemembranceDay #RemembranceSunday #RembranceDay2025 #Cenotaph #MargaretThatcher #EdwardHeath premiersemeritus.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-li...

🎙️ New episode Where did two-party politics actually come from? (Clue: it was chaotic from day one ⚔️) 👑 Monarchs v ministers 📜 Whigs v Tories 🧮 Parliamentary dark arts 🔗 Listen ⤵️ pod.link/1714627828/e...

Is Andrew still the Duke of York? Legally yes, officially no. My new post explores the ambiguous nature of being removed from the Roll of the Peerage. venerablepuzzle.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/a...

Letters Patent annulling the appointment of a Knight Bachelor are an exception to this rule. Those *are* handled by the Crown Office since they pass under the Great Seal. 2/2 cbaionline.org/corpus/items...

“THE KING has been pleased by Warrant under His Royal Sign Manual dated 30 October 2025 to direct His Secretary of State to cause the Duke of York to be removed from the Roll of the Peerage with immediate effect.” thegazette.co.uk/notice/4992105

An earlier occasion, in 1942, when the King had to deal with an embarrassing brother (from Andrew Roberts, Churchill) 1/2

Two different groups stopped me in the park to ask for my signature for election candidates! This is a politics nerd's dream on vacation! Alas it was spoiled by the reality that I don't speak Romanian. But! I learned that 🇷🇴 requires the most candidate support signatures anywhere in the EU (200,000)

It will end badly for the fascists. The trick is to make sure that it doesn’t end badly for any of the rest of us in the meantime.

#OnThisDay 1083 Matilda of Flanders, queen of William the Conqueror, died in Normandy. Contrary to popular myth, she was not 4’2” tall. A (short) thread:

I've been getting back into the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series after many years, and the most relatable part is how everyday objects like doors and elevators have been imbued with artificial intelligence and it just makes them obnoxious and frustrating to use and everyone hates it.

Andrew Davies's style is so distinctive that he could adapt The Gulag Archipelago and it would still be 'mischievously sexy'.

What’s happening in Westminster this week? Our Parliament Matters bulletin previews: — Hillsborough Law debate — Chagos Islands bill — Committees on Lord Mandelson’s appointment, the Afghan data-breach super-injunction, and Budget proposals Link in the post below 👇

I've been working on a curated collection of Letters Patent, Royal Warrants, Ministerial Submissions, and similar material called the Corpus of British Administrative Instruments. 1/2 cbaionline.org/corpus/

🎙️ New episode out now! 🇬🇧 Why did Nigel Farage’s 10 Minute Rule Bill to pull Britain out of the ECHR fail? 🚨 Tackling abuse of MPs after the Speaker’s Conference 🏛️ Westminster Hall debates: the history of MPs' second chamber 🔗 Listen here: buff.ly/9mmSwv0

It was the hardest citecheck and edit I had any part of (check out some of the sources cited - for one I relied on my own personal cassette of a pre-stardom Dixie Chicks album) but I assure you everything MLR published got checked from stem to stern.

Reform UK's Nigel Farage will seek to present a Bill on UK withdrawal from the ECHR at around 12:30 today. He will make a ten-minute speech, after which there may be a further speech and a division. Our guide below explains the procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills🔽

The House of Commons Library Open Day returns in 2026! Come and learn about what we do to inform democracy and take advantage of a rare chance to tour the Commons Library space. Full details are on our website and applications close 24th November commonslibrary.parliament.uk/training-and...

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the rebuilding of the House of Commons Chamber, following the destruction caused by incendiary bombs during the Second World War. (1/4)

The arguments that increase or decrease support for proportional representation, via Focaldata www.focaldata.com/blog/has-the...

Fawlty Towers x Hansard

One institution that is holding the line far better than I expected is the federal judiciary,* especially the district courts.

The defence lawyer now speaking for the government sounds absolutely shell-shocked. Voice quavering. Ironically looks like he has been tear-gassed

Tomorrow, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will seek to introduce a Ten-Minute Rule Bill for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. Our guide explains the procedure for Ten-Minute Rule Bills, and why they rarely become law. 🔽 buff.ly/HZFYM1o

Absolutely. It's always worth asking "what would a constitution designed by Reform UK look like?"

I'm usually a fan of @robertsaunders.bsky.social's takes, but I can't help but notice that, once again, the public discourse around constitutional reform in this country is undermined by wanting analysis. Entrenchment, albeit only of a formal kind, has already been successfully achieved in the UK./1

This isn't too far from where studying philosophical ethics led me as a moral system www.smbc-comics.com/comic/ethics-8

Includes a glorious @secondmentions.bsky.social -- the "hexagonal nation" .

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...