House of Lords Podcast: Lord Speaker's Corner

Hear from Lord Forsyth as he warns of a 'presidential' style of government that he believes has weakened Parliament’s role in scrutinising and improving laws. 'The House of Commons is failing in its function. It’s just abandoned its function of considering legislation properly.' In this new episode of Lord Speaker's Corner, Lord Forsyth tells Lord McFall of Alcluith that he wants to see 'root and...

'I think I've learned from all of the campaigns, a simple message gets through, complex messages don't.' Baroness Finlay of Llandaff is a leading doctor, a professor and pioneer in the field of palliative care. 'Always wanting to change the world', Baroness Finlay has often been ahead of the curve in campaigning for change on topics such as smoking, organ donation and protecting young people. Hear...

Lord McFall of Alcluith speaks to former Home Secretary David Blunkett - Lord Blunkett - about his 36-year career in Parliament in the latest episode of Lord Speaker's Corner. 'We anticipated there might be a second attack, particularly on the City of London.' In this episode, Lord Blunkett discusses a range of topics including the government's immediate response to the tragic events of 9/11, clas...

Hear from broadcaster and campaigner, Floella Benjamin, in the latest episode of Lord Speaker's Corner. In this episode, Baroness Benjamin explains that it was while presenting TV’s Play School in the 1970s and 1980s that she first realised that 'children didn't have a voice… People didn't take what's going to happen to children into consideration enough.' She has gone on to play a significant rol...

Hear from former Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, as he speaks to the Lord Speaker about an extensive political career spanning almost 60 years in Westminster. 'Liverpool changed me. There's no doubt in my mind.' Talking about his career in Parliament, Lord Heseltine said he hoped his involvement in the regeneration of Merseyside after the 1981 riots would stand as his political lega...

Baroness Butler-Sloss, the highest-ranking female judge in England and Wales as President of the High Court’s Family Division from 1999-2005, speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about her career and warns of moving away from parliamentary scrutiny in draft laws before the House. ‘There’s been a creep, a distinct creep, in the last 10 - and possibly mainly the last five - years to move away from parl...

Watch leading human rights lawyer, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, discuss human rights, social media and access to justice with Lord McFall of Alcluith in the latest episode of Lord Speaker's Corner.   'I was challenging the state, and often taking on the state, because of abuses by arms of the state, by police, by immigration authorities… And that is the purpose of law. That is what the rule...

This month we speak to chairs of two new Lords committees looking into the use of artificial intelligence in weapons systems and the future of the horticultural sector. Plus, Lord Bird discusses his upbringing and how he campaigns in the House of Lords for a new way to deal with the problem of poverty. ‘There are things that we wish we'd never invented like nuclear weapons, like landmines, but the...

From making movies for Stephen Spielberg to ground-breaking protections for young people online, Beeban Kidron - Baroness Kidron - talks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about her wide-ranging work as a filmmaker and campaigner. In this new interview, Baroness Kidron reveals what inspired her to become a filmmaker and her experiences making television and films including Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit a...

Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, has been a member of the government in both Houses of Parliament as well as serving as a backbencher, has chaired the Lords Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee and most recently led the external UK Commission on Covid Commemoration. In this wide-ranging interview, Baroness Morgan explains what inspired her to get into politics, who asks the hardest qu...

How should the curriculum for 11-16 year olds be reformed and should GCSEs remain? How can health services and community care be work better together? Hear from members on these topics and more in the latest episode of the House of Lords Podcast. First up we speak to the Senior Deputy Speaker, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, about how committees function in the House of Lords and his experiences as both...

‘In the House of Commons there's a culture of assertion. Government knows it'll normally get its way. In the House of Lords, it's a culture of justification. So government's got to persuade the rest of the House that what it wants to achieve it is desirable. So ministers have to engage. They can't simply rely on their own side to get a measure through.’ In this third episode of Lord Speaker's Corn...

‘One of the problems I had growing up as a young person in Northern Ireland when things were breaking down into violence again was... I was very troubled by the violence. I thought we must find some kind of way of living together. But the other thing was, I wanted to understand why.’ Welcome to the second episode of our Lord Speaker's Corner series. In this episode, the Lord Speaker is joined by p...

Introducing a special series from the House of Lords: Lord Speaker's Corner. Over five episodes, Lord McFall of Alcluith will speak to members of the Lords about what drives them and what they hope to achieve in the House. In this first episode, the Lord Speaker sits down with Lord Dubs: ‘I think it's possible in the House of Lords to achieve things. And there's no point in being here unless one s...

This month we speak to two members who have been leading investigations into improving adult social care and how the government has incompletely implemented the Children and Families Act. ‘A gloriously ordinary life’ ‘We cannot keep asking families and friends to step up and take more and more responsibility for the adult social care services, while denying them some basic rights in terms of fair...

How do you know what a member said in the House of Lords, or Commons?   And did you know that you could once be arrested for reporting what was happening in Parliament?   In this month’s episode of the House of Lords Podcast, we meet the team behind the Official Report, known as Hansard, who ensure written proceedings are made available and accessible to the public each sitting day. &nbs...

Did you know that it’s not just the government that can propose new laws in Parliament? This month we are looking at how members campaign for change via private members’ bills. These are bills that can be introduced by any member of the House of Lords, who is not a government minister, to change the law. Amy and Matt speak to Lord Farmer, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Lord Wills about their bill...

In this month’s House of Lords podcast we talk to Labour’s Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon and Conservative peer Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes. First up, we hear from Baroness Morgan about the new Lords committee investigating how we tackle digital fraud, how you can get involved in the committee’s work and what former minister Lord Agnew of Oulton told the committee about the go...

This month, we hear from Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate why the House of Lords is the best place for checking draft laws, his experiences as a whip and as a rebel, plus updating the Queen on what’s happening in Parliament. ‘This is a bit like Deja-vu, this particular legislation’ Lord Kirkhope also explains why he is putting forward changes to the Nationality and Borders Bill based upon his experience...

In this month’s episode of the House of Lords Podcast, we are talking about protecting children and strengthening the Union, plus RuPaul’s Drag Race and seeing yourself on stage. Children and the internet ‘I saw in the attention economy that, in order to create as much value as possible from data… you created features of the system that were unsafe or exposing for children… They should not be work...

What is needed to make England a healthier nation? And why are two committees concerned about government use of secondary legislation? Find out in this month's House of Lords Podcast. What is needed to make England a healthier nation? We hear from Karren Brady and Phil Willis – Baroness Brady and Lord Willis of Knaresborough – this month on the report just issued by their committee. The Lords Spor...

We are discussing the environment and climate change this month on the House of Lords Podcast. We spoke to two leading environmental campaigners in the House about their perceptions of the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow. We also discuss work in the Lords on the environment, and the balance between personal, government and international responsibilities in combatting climate change. First up Ba...

For the first of our two October episodes, and in celebration of Black History Month, discover the story of Lord Pitt of Hampstead in partnership with the Parliamentary Archives. The second Black peer in the House of Lords, for many years Dr David Pitt was one of the most recognisable civil rights campaigners in Britain. From Grenada to Camden via Scotland and the House of Lords, learn more about...

This month we hear from Parliament’s two Speakers: Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, and Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. In this episode, they discuss how their similar backgrounds have forged a new working relationship between the two speakers, the importance of engaging with the whole country and the surprisingly international aspects of their roles. ‘We share a common h...

·      How do you decide what constitutes the House of Lords when you cannot all meet in person? ·      How has life changed for women in Parliament over the last 21 years? ·      What do clerks do when they’re sat at the table in the chamber? ·      How does it feel to miss out...