Opposition parties play a crucial role in parliamentary democracy, scrutinising the government and putting forward alternative policies. But what makes opposition parties effective, both inside parliament and beyond? As the Conservative Party announced its new leader, this expert panel with first-hand experience of life in opposition discussed the task facing them and the other opposition parties.

Speakers:

• Baroness (Kate) Fall – former Deputy Chief of Staff to David Cameron, and Conservative peer
• Professor Marc Stears – former chief speechwriter to the Labour Party, and Director of the UCL Policy Lab
• Dr Nigel Fletcher – co-founder of the Centre for Opposition Studies

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

This autumn the House of Commons has elected a raft of new select committee chairs who will play an important role in holding the government to account over the coming years. But there are many ways to chair a select committee, and new chairs will need to think carefully about what they want to achieve and how to go about it.

This webinar brings together three senior former MPs and select committee chairs to discuss their experiences, and their reflections on how to use the role most effectively.

Speakers:

• Baroness (Margaret) Hodge of Barking – former chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Labour peer, and former Labour MP
• Sir Charles Walker – former chair of the House of Commons Procedure Committee and Administration Committee, and former Conservative MP
• Joanna Cherry KC – former chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and former SNP MP

Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/

The House of Commons has established a new Modernisation Committee with a remit ‘to consider reforms to House of Commons procedures, standards, and working practices’. This reflects a Labour manifesto commitment, and echoes the Modernisation Committee appointed in 1997 under the last Labour government.

As the committee gets up and running this autumn, it faces a number of important questions. How should it approach its work, what issues might it address, and what lessons can it learn from past efforts to reform the Commons? We discussed these questions with an expert panel.

Speakers:

• Greg Power – former special adviser to two Leaders of the House of Commons, and Founder and Board Chair of Global Partners Governance
• Dr Sue Griffiths – Clerk to the previous House of Commons Modernisation Committee 2007–08, and Managing Director of Social Development Direct
• Dr Tom Fleming – Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics, Constitution Unit

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

• Commons Modernisation Committee publishes key strategic aims for reform
• The House of Commons Modernisation Committee: background, opportunities, and potential pitfalls by Tom Fleming and Hannah Kelly
• The personal side of parliamentary reform by Greg Power

For those interested in keeping up to date with the Modernisation Committee, you can subscribe to its email list using this link.

Links

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved

Blog: https://constitution-unit.com/