Parliament Matters

Winning the election is one thing. Making Congress work is another. How will the Democrats now turn electoral success into effective congressional power to constrain Donald Trump and advance their own policy agenda?

Daniel Schuman of the American Governance Institute joins us to explain how the new Congress will organise itself between election day and January, when the new House of Representatives and Senate are sworn in.

The outgoing “lame duck” Congress faces the prospect of last-minute confirmation battles and an urgent funding deadline if a government shutdown before Christmas is to be avoided. Next year will bring fresh battles over the budget and spending.

Meanwhile, incoming representatives must recruit staff, establish offices and learn the ropes of an unfamiliar institution.

For Democrats, there are decisions to be made about leadership positions, who gets coveted committee places, and agree the rules that will govern the House.
Their choices will shape whose priorities advance, who can block them and how effectively the party can work together. Daniel explains how these internal party bargains distribute power and why a stronger Speaker may not mean a stronger Congress.

The conversation examines Democratic factions, Congress’s strongest levers, especially appropriations, and the limits of oversight, subpoenas, contempt and impeachment when an administration resists compliance and courts take time.

Then comes the confrontation with the White House. Can lawmakers use the power of the purse to curb Trump’s foreign adventures and reinstate support for Ukraine?
Could the Senate block appointments to the courts and federal agencies? And how should committees balance investigating the administration with advancing legislation that delivers for voters?

We explore what happens if officials refuse to testify, why contempt proceedings can stall, and how immunity, presidential pardons and lengthy court battles complicate accountability.

Daniel offers a stark assessment of checks and balances under strain: Congress has formidable powers on paper, but making them work depends on more than an election victory.

From induction to internal bargaining, this is a guide to the decisions, procedures and pressure points that will determine what the new Congress can achieve and where its limits lie.
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00:00 Introduction: Inside the new Congress
01:49 Why the outgoing Congress stays in power
03:39 Shutdown deadlines and last-minute Supreme Court appointments
07:16 Learning the job: How new representatives are inducted
10:40 New Congress, new House rules: An opening for reform?
15:32 Who runs the House? The Speaker, committees and members
19:50 The Democrats’ internal battles: Factions, leadership and reform
23:10 What powers can Congress use against Trump?
26:09 Ukraine funding and the limits of impeachment
27:35 The power of the purse: How spending deals get made
30:07 Investigations, subpoenas and officials who refuse to cooperate
33:40 Investigate or legislate? Delivering the Democrats’ agenda
36:54 Immunity, pardons and running down the clock
40:03 Can America’s checks and balances be repaired?
43:46 Blocking nominees and debating Supreme Court reform
47:08 A crisis moment: What happens when presidential power defies the rules?
48:00 Our next episode: Baroness Kidron talks about her work at the centre of parliamentary efforts to regulate the online world
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Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Presenters: Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox
Producer: Richard Townsend
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you keep order when the House of Commons is packed, passions are running high and the country is watching?

Deputy Speaker Nusrat Ghani joins us for an exclusive interview the morning after chairing the Budget debate. She takes us inside the preparation, nerves and split-second decisions involved in managing one of Parliament’s biggest occasions.

From spotting where trouble might erupt to using eye contact and humour to keep MPs in line, she explains how she balances authority with allowing the Chamber to express itself. She reflects on her experience of John Bercow’s approach, why she wants to avoid undermining MPs’ confidence, and what occupying the historic Chair means to her and her family. And could chairing the Budget be an audition for the speakership?

Beyond the Chair, we assess a Budget that offered breathing room but postponed bigger decisions. What should select committees do now to test the Government’s spending promises?

We also untangle the curious case of Nigel Farage’s missing prayer card: does losing your reserved seat really prevent you from attending the Budget? And why were details of an energy announcement shared with Martin Lewis before Parliament heard them?

Finally, we reveal a proposal buried in the Budget paperwork to downgrade parliamentary scrutiny of future changes to tax-clearance rules for major investment projects. With 108 Ways and Means motions awaiting approval, what else might MPs miss in the small print?
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Support the Hansard Society and Parliament Matters by making a donation.

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Presenters: Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox
Producer: Richard Townsend
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you respond to a Budget you’ve only just heard, and spot what the Chancellor would rather you missed? Treasury Committee Chair Meg Hillier joins us to explain how she prepares for Budget day and how her Committee tests the promises behind the headlines. She weighs the benefits of Budget secrecy against the risk of policies going untested, argues for tougher scrutiny of sensitive defence spending, and explains why Parliament needs to look beyond the annual set piece event to how public money is actually spent. Her central challenge: can MPs and ministers give long-term financial choices the attention they deserve?

The Chancellor’s speech is only the beginning. Ruth and Mark offer a “cut out and keep” guide to what happens next: the days of Budget debate, the Ways and Means resolutions and the Finance Bill that turns the announcements into law. How can some tax changes take effect that very night? What can MPs amend and how does the Government limit their options? It’s your essential companion to following the Budget through the Commons.

Beyond the Budget, we discuss Darren Jones’s striking evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. His account of trying to make Whitehall work across departmental boundaries raises an uncomfortable question: are constitutional safeguards protecting accountability, or being used to resist change? From funding the Government’s missions to getting departments’ financial systems to talk to one another, he describes a system in which even apparently straightforward reforms become a battle. Jones argues that senior civil servants have become more political without facing sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. But where should responsibility lie when ministers’ ambitions collide with officials’ advice about what the constitution permits? We explore his challenge to Whitehall’s accountability arrangements and his concerns about scrutiny of increasingly powerful mayors.
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🎓 Learn more using our resources for the issues mentioned in this episode.

❓ Send us your questions about Parliament:

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£ - Support the Hansard Society and this podcast by making a donation today.

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Presenters: Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox
Producer: Gareth Jones
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are House of Commons select committees equipped to meet the new challenges facing parliamentary scrutiny? Liam Byrne, the Labour former minister leading a review of the committee system, joins us to explore whether committees have the powers, resources and support they need in the modern scrutiny environment.

Among his concerns is the increasing use of “lawfare” to force the disclosure of information provided by whistleblowers who give evidence to committees. How can Parliament protect witnesses from retaliation? And does the Commons have adequate powers to compel people to appear and obtain the documents its committees need?

With Andy Burnham promising closer ties with the EU, is it time to reinvent the European Scrutiny Committee? Could Westminster learn from New Zealand by setting aside a week for committees to examine departmental public spending? And does Parliament need a parliamentary budget office to help MPs interrogate the public finances and the cost of policy choices? It would not come cheap, Liam acknowledges, but he argues that it looks increasingly necessary.

Plus, how has the Burnham factor reshaped British politics? As MPs return to Westminster after the conference season, we explore how the shifting balance of power could play out in Parliament. The new Prime Minister has set out ambitious long-term goals. But he already has a commanding Commons majority. How might he use it?

We finish with some unsolicited advice for Ed Davey. Facing criticism that the Liberal Democrats have made too little impact since the election, how could he use his 72 MPs – the party’s largest-ever contingent – to make a bigger splash at Westminster?

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🎓 Learn more using our resources for the issues mentioned in this episode.

❓ Send us your questions about Parliament:

✅ Subscribe to our newsletter.

📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety / @hansardsociety.bsky.social

£ - Support the Hansard Society and this podcast by making a donation today.

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Presenters: Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox
Producer: Gareth Jones
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer joins us to discuss his new book, No Way to Run a Country: An Outsider’s Journey into the Heart of our Broken Politics, and his struggle to change veterans’ policy from inside Westminster and Whitehall.

Mercer entered Parliament after serving in Afghanistan, determined to improve support for former service personnel. He recalls arriving with little knowledge of parliamentary politics, the unexpected impact of his maiden speech, and how he used his role on the Defence Select Committee and the media to press for change.

He takes us behind the scenes at Prime Minister’s Questions: what happens when an MP is chosen to ask a question, and why do so many use the opportunity to ask a planted question? He explains why select committees offered him a more effective way to hold people to account than exchanges in the Commons Chamber, and how party discipline and the pursuit of ministerial office can shape an MP’s choices.

Mercer also explains why he fought to establish an Office for Veterans’ Affairs outside the Ministry of Defence, and how political instability helped him win commitments from successive Prime Ministers. He is candid about the relationships he damaged, the mistakes he made, and what he learned about working with people whose priorities differed from his own.

Finally, he offers his prescription for a more effective Parliament, assesses the current government’s approach to veterans and the Northern Ireland legacy debate, and considers whether he would ever return to politics and Parliament.

🎓 Learn more using our resources for the issues mentioned in this episode.

❓ Send us your questions about Parliament:

✅ Subscribe to our newsletter.

📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety / @hansardsociety.bsky.social

£ - Support the Hansard Society and this podcast by making a donation today.

Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Presenters: Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox
Producer: Richard Townsend
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.