Rishi Sunak offered his MPs a free vote on his flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill and dozens concluded they could not support it. As well as exploring the politics of the Bill, Ruth and Mark discuss the concept of a free vote and how they have been deployed in previous parliamentary sessions.
They denounced them at the time, but should Labour Ministers now use the sweeping powers Conservative Ministers have given themselves in this Parliament – for example, in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 - to push through a Labour Government’s agenda in the next? Former adviser to the last Labour Government, John McTernan, has suggested
And we talk to former Foreign Secretary, Lord David Owen who during House of Lords questions this week asked his successor, Lord Cameron, about the prospects for closer co-operation with the French Government over nuclear weapons strategy. It turns out there was a diplomatic initiative behind the question, involving a former French Foreign Secretary. We ask Lord Owen how he thinks Lord Cameron is doing in his old job, and whether he thinks it’s possible to do the job from the House of Lords not the Commons.
What is the purpose of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill?
How did Conservative MPs divide on a free vote on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill? What is a free vote?
What is parliamentary ping-pong?
What is double insistence during the legislative process?
Should a future Labour Government make extensive use of sweeping Ministerial powers to push policy through quickly without regard to Parliament?
Is Lord Cameron proving to be an effective Foreign Secretary?
Can a Foreign Secretary really do the job if they are based in the House of Lords not the House of Commons
Why has the Government rejected the Procedure Committee’s recommendations for Lord Cameron to appear at the ‘bar of the House’ of Commons to answer MPs questions?
Parliament Matters is supported by a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, a Quaker trust which engages in philanthropy and supports work on democratic accountability.
Lord Owen served as Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979 under Prime Minister James Callaghan. He was a Labour MP from 1966 until 1981, when he left the Labour Party to found the Social Democratic Party alongside the three other members of the "Gang of Four". He opted not to join the Liberal Democrats when it was created in 1988 following a merger of the SDP and Liberal Party. Since 1992, Lord Owen has been a member of the House of Lords, where he sat as a crossbencher until 2014, after which he sat as an Independent Social Democrat. He acted as the EU's representative during the Bosnian peace process from 1993 until 1995.
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00:00:00:00 - 00:00:34:17 You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society Production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/pm. Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy, Parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox and I'm Mark D’Arcy. Coming up, smoke gets in Rishi Sunak's eyes as his personal initiative, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, splits Conservative MPs in half. 00:00:34:19 - 00:01:05:11 They denounced them at the time, but should Labour ministers now use the sweeping powers Tory ministers have given themselves in this parliament to push through a Labour government's agenda in the next. And we ask a former Foreign Secretary how Lord Cameron is doing in his old job.
But first the Tobacco and Vapes Bill caused all kinds of problems for Rishi Sunak.
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The UK Spending Review outlines how Government funds will be allocated over several years. Unlike the Budget, which raises revenue, the Review decides how it is spent. But how is it approved? What role does Parliament play if it doesn’t vote on the Review itself? This blog explores how the Spending Review works, how it differs from the Budget, and how Parliament holds the Government to account through the Estimates process.
On Friday 13 June, the House of Commons will once again debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. Specifically, it will hold a second day of Report Stage, during which the whole House will debate and vote on amendments. This briefing explains the structure of Report Stage, what happened on the first day of Report Stage, how amendments are selected and grouped, on which amendments a decision can still be taken, and the likely sequence of events this Friday, including whether a final vote will take place.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, will deliver a statement on the Spending Review. MPs will resume Report Stage of the assisted dying bill and debate key legislation on football governance, mental health, and planning and infrastructure. Peers and MPs are expected to resolve their standoff over AI and copyright in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The Commons Defence Committee will hear from the lead reviewers of the Strategic Defence Review, while a Lords Committee will examine the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty issue. The Hansard Society’s Director will give evidence to the Modernisation Committee about access to the House of Commons and its procedures.
In this episode, we explore why ministers keep bypassing Parliament to make major announcements to the media — and whether returning to the Despatch Box might help clarify their message. We unpack the Lords' uphill battle to protect creators’ rights in the Data Use and Access Bill, challenge claims that the Assisted Dying Bill lacks scrutiny, and examine early findings from a Speaker’s Conference on improving security for MPs, as threats and intimidation against politicians continue to rise. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.
Our evidence on treaty scrutiny has been published by the House of Lords International Agreements Committee. Our submission outlines the problems with the existing framework for treaty scrutiny and why legislative and cultural change are needed to improve Parliament's scrutiny role. Our evidence joins calls for a parliamentary consent vote for the most significant agreements, a stronger role for Parliament in shaping negotiating mandates and monitoring progress, and a sifting committee tasked with determining which agreements warrant the greatest scrutiny.
