To mark the Hansard Society’s 80th anniversary, we have launched the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in honour of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The inaugural lecture was given by former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Theresa May MP on 14 May 2024.
All proceeds from ticket sales went to our 80th Anniversary Appeal.
See below for a video recording and transcript of the event.
Frustrated with the way Westminster works? Parliamentary reform is essential if we are to improve the way the country is governed in the future.
Theresa May has seen how Parliament works from every angle - from the backbenches to the Despatch Box - over the last quarter century. In her recent book, The Abuse of Power, she outlined some areas for reform.
So we asked her to flesh out her ideas about the House of Commons in more detail for our inaugural 'Democracy Lecture', named in honour of our first members, and her predecessors in Downing Street, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee.
The new Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture marks the Society's 80th anniversary and sees a prominent speaker invited each year to reflect on the state of parliamentary democracy in the UK and around the world.
With a wealth of experience in the corridors of Westminster, Theresa May explores what’s wrong with Parliament, particularly the House of Commons, and what changes are needed to make it more effective.
She talks about what she thought about Parliament before entering Number 10 and how her experience at the apex of government has since influenced her thinking about the institution and why and how it must change.
Now watch online as we honour the legacies of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, with a thought-provoking exploration of the challenges facing Parliament in the years ahead, raising funds for our 80th Anniversary Appeal.
All right, thank you. Thank you very much, Jackie, for that introduction. And it is, indeed, an honour to deliver this inaugural Churchill Atlee Democracy Lecture and in so doing, to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Hansard Society and to launch your 80th anniversary fundraising appeal.
And it's fitting that you've chosen to name this lecture after your first two members. Sir Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee were both distinguished statesmen, but first and foremost, they were parliamentarians. They believed in the power of our parliamentary system to maintain stability, to provide good governance, and to enhance democratic accountability.
They were committed to the idea of Parliament as the representative forum of the nation. And they were champions and for the primacy of the Commons, as the elected chamber. It's indicative of that belief that they both opted to remain active participants in political life after Downing Street. And I'm proud to have followed in that tradition.
And it has been a privilege to have spent the last five years participating from the back benches. Although, it was a rather unfamiliar existence at first. I'd only been a backbencher for a year upon entering Parliament before I was appointed to the opposition front bench. 5 And I spent 12 years auditioning for government, holding 11 different briefs, serving under four party leaders.
As you've just heard, in 2010, I joined the government as Home Secretary before becoming Prime Minister six years later. Now, as you would expect, a lot has changed over those years, much of it for the better. I'm glad to say that reference to what Jackie has just been talking about, there are many more women in Parliament now, for instance. But there is still much more we can do.
So as a member of Parliament, approaching the end of her 27 years tenure, I'd just like to share some reflections with you on my time in public life, on the state of our democracy, and on how it could be made stronger and more effective in the future.
First, we should ask ourselves, why democracy? Churchill said it is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried. And of course, democracy does have its flaws. But alongside our values of liberty and justice, of our commitment to the rule of law and to an open market economy, democracy has been the platform upon which modern history has been built.
The Hansard Society was founded by Stephen King-Hall MP in 1944. In his memoirs, he records seeing the Prime Minister, Mr Churchill, and his Deputy, Mr Attlee, sitting on a sofa in the Smoking Room of the House of Commons at the height of the War.
Summoning up the courage to approach them, he asked if he could interest them in his ‘Friends of Hansard’ idea. He believed that a vehicle was needed for proclaiming the principles and workings of parliamentary democracy at a time when it was under imminent threat.
Having listened to the idea, Churchill asked ‘How much do you want to start this up?’
‘One pound from each of you if you approve the idea, and you will be the first Friends’ replied King-Hall.
They duly handed over the money and so began a venture that for 80 years has sought, through education and research, to promote the principles of parliamentary democracy.
King-Hall’s vision grew rapidly and the informal ‘Friends’ of Hansard was rapidly converted into a ‘Society’ with the continuing support of the two party leaders and other prominent donors including Her late Majesty the Queen.
Their assistance and support was vital in underpinning the non-partisan approach the Society has always taken to its mission.
Today, our founder's vision is as relevant as ever: the challenges facing our democracy are different from those which concerned Stephen King-Hall, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee in 1944, but just as urgent.
With this new Democracy Lecture series we hope to ignite crucial conversations about the state of our parliamentary system and honour the legacy of our first members.
The Hansard Society remains the Westminster Parliament’s ‘critical friend’. This fundraising event for our 80th Anniversary Appeal helps support our work for a more effective Parliament.
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