Annual General Meeting with guest speaker Michael Crick

Events / Members

Annual General Meeting with guest speaker Michael Crick

21 Feb 2023

At our AGM we will be updating Members on the work of the Society and looking ahead to the next year. Our guest speaker is political journalist Michael Crick, who will be talking about his Tomorrow's MPs project, tracking candidate selection processes for the next general election.

6:00-7:30pm, 14 March 2023

This is a Members only hybrid event: in person at our base in Westminster and on Zoom.

About the Annual General Meeting

The agenda and associated papers for the meeting will be sent direct to Members in advance of the meeting. Our Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 2021 is available for immediate download.

6:00-6:30pm Annual General Meeting

Approval of the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting
Report of the Directors and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021
Appointment of Auditors
Re-appointment of Trustees
Reflections on the last year and future plans: update by the Rt Hon the Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Chair) and Dr Ruth Fox (Director) followed by Q & A.

6:30-7:30pm Who are Tomorrow’s MPs? A conversation with Michael Crick

Michael will be talking about his @TomorrowsMPs project, shedding light on the candidate selection processes for the next general election. He is tracking when and how parties pick candidates for Westminster seats and who is being selected where. He will be sharing his insights into the next generation of future members of the House of Commons (and therefore future Government Ministers), what the selections tell us about the contenders, the winners and the state of the political parties locally and nationally. He will also be reflecting on the challenges he has faced in lifting the lid on the selection processes underway in 650 constituencies across the country.

Our guest speaker

Michael Crick is a political journalist who has worked for Channel 4 News, Channel 4 Dispatches, LBC Radio, BBC Panorama, BBC Newsnight and MailPlus. He recently launched a new podcast, Mugshots, profiling the people who make the headlines and shape our world. He is also the author of several books, including biographies of the Hansard Society’s former Chair, Professor Sir David Butler, and most recently of Nigel Farage.

Latest / Highlights

News / Post Office Horizon scandal: What is Parliament doing about it? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 33

Should Parliament simply overturn the convictions of postmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal? That’s what the Government proposes to do through the Post Office (Horizon system) Offences Bill. But quashing of convictions is normally a matter for the courts. Some MPs have misgivings about setting a constitutional precedent as well as practical concerns about how the Bill will be implemented. We talk to the Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Sir Bob Neill MP.

News / Is AI set to destroy trust in elections? Tackling misinformation in politics & Parliament, with top fact checker Full Fact's Chris Morris - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 32

The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping political discourse is a potential game changer. It has the capacity to fabricate fake interviews and manipulate images, all of which could mislead voters and disrupt the democratic process. But could it affect the results of our elections? We talk to Chris Morris, the head of factchecking organisation, Full Fact, about the threats posed by these technologies, the potential scale of misinformation in politics, and the measures politicians and political parties need to take to counteract them.

Events / The inaugural Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture, to be given by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP

To mark the Hansard Society’s 80th anniversary we are launching the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in honour of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The inaugural lecture will be given by former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Theresa May MP. This is a fundraising event for our 80th Anniversary Appeal. Date & location: Tuesday 14 May 2024, 7:00-8:15pm, Westminster (venue to be announced) Tickets: £25

Briefings / General election rules and regulations: what has changed?

With a general election on the horizon there has been a spate of new legislation and regulations to implement changes to the way the election will be run, with consequences for voters and electoral administrators. Parliament has not always had a role in approving these changes. This briefing sets out the core changes to the electoral process that have been implemented since the last general election in 2019, the role that Parliament has played in scrutinising and approving them, and the risks arising from these changes.

News / Rwanda Bill becomes law: but what was really going on behind the scenes in Parliament? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 31

The Rwanda Bill has made it over the parliamentary finishing line but not without some last-minute drama. We talk to the SNP’s Alison Thewliss MP about what went on in a small room, behind the Speaker’s Chair, away from the cameras!