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View this talk about the future of the House of Lords, delivered on 10 December 2020. The text of the lecture is here.
View this video of Kenneth Clarke, former Father of the House of Commons, in conversation with Professor Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit, in a joint SPG/Constitution Unit event on 27 February 2020.
The Group held its annual conference at Cohen Quad, Exeter College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the use of data for scrutiny, Parliament and the Law, current academic research, Gender Sensitive Parliaments and a discussion with Chris Bryant MP. The second Michael Wheeler-Booth Memorial Lecture was given by Meg Hillier MP.
The Group held its annual conference at Cohen Quad, Exeter College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the use of mini-assemblies (of the public), minority government and legislatures, current academic research, and various aspects of Brexit, including Parliament's role so far and the roles of the UK's legislatures after Brexit. The first Michael Wheeler-Booth Memorial Lecture was given by Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales 2009-18.
The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the Scottish Parliament's Commission on Parliamentary Reform, Parliamentary scrutiny on trade agreements after Brexit; Budgetary and financial processes; the Lord Speaker's Committee on the size of the House of Lords.
The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included aspects of Brexit, restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, innovation in select committees, Parliamentary participation and opposition in Parliament and assemblies.The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included "English Votes for English Laws", financial scrutiny, gender and diversity, petitions and public engagement, and the Strathclyde Review on the powers of the House of Lords.The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the impact of
the Scottish Independence Referendum, and codifying the constitution.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon. John Bercow MP, gave the Michael Ryle memorial lecture on 30 June in the Speaker's
State Apartments. As well as members of the Study of Parliament Group, several of Michael's former colleagues were present, and
some of his family and friends.
A transcript of the speech is on the Parliamentary Website.
Michael Ryle, who died on 7 December 2013, at the age of 86, founded the Study of Parliament Group in 1964 with political scientist Bernard Crick. He was a House of Commons Clerk, serving from 1951 to 1989, when he had reached the post of Clerk of Committees, in charge of the House's system of select committees. Read more about Michael in his obituary in the Independent, by former MP Tam Dalyell.
Alexander Horne, a Barrister of Lincoln's Inn and the Legal and Senior Policy Adviser at the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit, has written a new SPG paper (No. 3 in our series), entitled "Is there a case for greater legislative involvement in the judicial appointments process?". Read it here. All SPG papers.
The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the Banking Commission, Parliamentary standards
and Parliamentary buildings.
Dawn Oliver, Alexander Horne (both pictured left) and Gavin Drewry
launched Parliament and the Law on 23 October
at University College London. Sir Ross Cranston FBA (middle picture),
who wrote the foreword to the book, gave a speech.
The Study of Parliament Group has published a new book of essays on the subject of Parliament and the Law. Edited by Alexander Horne, Gavin Drewry and Dawn Oliver, the book provides a wide-ranging overview of the ways in which the law applies to Parliament, and considers how recent changes to our constitutional arrangements have impacted on Parliament as an institution. For more details, please see the publisher's website.
Richard Bacon MP addressed the group at its Summer Dinner, held this
year at King's College, London.
The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College, Oxford, and discussed a number of topics including petitions, improving legislation and Parliamentary standards. See here and here for a couple of blogs about what took place.The Rt Hon George Young Bt MP, Leader of the House of
Commons, addressed the group before its Summer Dinner, held this
year at King's College, London.The Group held its annual conference at Worcester College,
Oxford. Topics discussed included the relation of Parliament with
the judiciary, public engagement and reform of the House of
Lords.
This book, by
Michael Rush and Philip Giddings, arises out of the work of the
New Members Study Group, which has examined the way in which new
MPs (from the 1992 intake onwards) learn and develop their role
at the House of Commons and in their constituencies.
See Publisher's web page on the book.
Palgrave Macmillan, July 2011, £57.50, ISBN 978 0 230
28489 0
Lord
Phillips of Worth Matravers, President of the Supreme Court,
addressed the Group about the work and development of the court,
in a speech delivered in the Speaker's State Apartments (by kind
permission of Mr Speaker).