How will Donald Trump's return reverberate in the UK Parliament?

News

How will Donald Trump's return reverberate in the UK Parliament? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 53

8 Nov 2024

©UK Parliament

Kemi Badenoch sparred with Keir Starmer for the first time at Prime Ministers’ Questions. We assess her debut as Leader of the Opposition and the impact she made in the chamber. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s return to the White House is expected to reshape British policy across multiple fronts - we look at how it could influence Parliament’s agenda in the coming years. Finally, we head to Belfast for insights from political expert, David Phinnemore, on the constitutional conundrum unfolding in Northern Ireland.

LISTEN

This week we turn the spotlight on Kemi Badenoch’s debut as Leader of the Opposition at Prime Minister’s Questions, as she sparred with Keir Starmer for the first time. We examine her strategy, topic choices and what it will take to position herself as a credible challenger in the House of Commons Chamber and beyond.

Then we analyse Donald Trump's re-election and its potential ripple effects on UK policies, from trade tariffs to defence commitments. How might a shift in US foreign policy affect British alliances, and what could this mean for Parliament's upcoming agenda? And might Nigel Farage, the new MP and UK Reform Party leader, leverage his connection with President Trump and if so how it could affect Keir Starmer’s government?

The long-awaited Ministerial Code has finally been published. The Prime Minister’s new guidelines set out the do’s and don’ts for Ministers and tighten up some of the rules on ministerial conduct. The “seven principles of public life” – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership – provide an ethical framework to the document. Ruth and Mark break down the changes, from empowering the independent advisor on ministerial interests to initiate investigations to the newly required quarterly declarations of ministers' interests and monthly reporting of gifts and hospitality.

Finally, we explore Northern Ireland Assembly’s upcoming democratic consent vote on the Windsor Framework, which governs the nation’s post-Brexit trade rules. Professor David Phinnemore of Queen’s University Belfast joins us to explore why this vote matters, how it’s viewed differently by the nationalist and unionist parties in the Assembly, the possible outcomes, and the broader implications for the UK-EU relationship and UK politics.

← Back to Parliament Matters homepage

Listen on our YouTube channel (captioned)

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Our guest

David Phinnemore

David Phinnemore is Professor of European Politics at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. His research interests are focused on European integration, EU treaty reform and EU enlargement. In recent years he has focused on the implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland and UK-EU relations, including the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework. He currently coordinates the ESRC-funded project "Governance for 'a place between’: the Multilevel Dynamics of Implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland".

What we talked about on this episode

Kemi Badenoch’s debut at Prime Minister’s Questions
Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States and its implications for British politics
Changes to the new Ministerial Code
The forthcoming ‘democratic consent vote’ in the Northern Ireland Assembly on whether core parts of the Windsor Framework should continue to be applied

Resources

Hansard Society

Trump, State Visits and Parliament: precedent and process

UK Government

Ministerial Code (November 2024)

Queen's University Belfast

What do voters in Northern Ireland currently think about the Windsor Framework/Protocol? (David Phinnemore, Katy Hayward and Lisa Claire Whitten)
Q&A on the Democratic Consent Vote 2024 (David Phinnemore and Katy Hayward)
The Protocol/Windsor Framework and the 2024 Democratic Consent Vote (David Phinnemore and Lisa Claire Whitten)

UK in a Changing Europe

The Windsor Framework and the 2024 democratic consent process (David Phinnemore)

Transcript

Please note, this transcript is automatically generated. There are consequently minor errors and the text is not formatted according to our style guide. If you wish to reference or cite the transcript copy below, please first check against the audio version above.

Intro: [00:00:00] You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society production, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/pm.

Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy, Parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox.

Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy. Coming up.

Ruth Fox: There's a new sheriff in town. Kemi Badenoch takes on Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions. We assess her debut as Leader of the Opposition.

Mark D'Arcy: How will the second coming of Donald Trump reverberate through the UK Parliament?

Ruth Fox: And we go to Belfast to hear from political expert David Phinnemore about the constitutional conundrum unfolding in Northern Ireland.

Mark D'Arcy: But first Ruth, Kemi Badenoch takes her first PMQs. [00:01:00] It's always an event when a new Leader of the Opposition steps up to the plate, or in this case, the despatch box, to question a Prime Minister, and it's always interesting and it's always dissected, and I don't think anybody should underestimate quite how difficult a gig it is.

Kemi Badenoch. Medium sized cabinet minister in the last government, always looked a bit like the front runner in the Conservative leadership election, once it was clear who the runners were, and once the electorate had eliminated other possible contenders. And there she was, standing in front of Sir Keir Starmer, trying to deliver a blow, establish herself, win the confidence of the troops behind her. Only a third of MPs had, more or less, had voted for her, in the election phase that took place amongst Conservative MPs before it went out to the members, so she had quite a lot at stake.

And I, I find myself remembering David Cameron's debut all those years ago against Tony Blair, where he immediately struck a blow by delivering quite an effective [00:02:00] line. He was the future once.

Use the links below to subscribe to the Hansard Society's Parliament Matters podcast on your preferred app, or search for 'Parliament Matters' on whichever podcasting service you use. If you are unable to find our podcast, please email us here.

Apple

YouTube Podcasts

Spotify

More ways to subscribe

Parliament Matters homepage

Latest / Highlights

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 19-23 May 2025

Stella Creasy MP and Richard Tice MP will lead a backbench debate on the EU–UK summit. The Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a joint session with its Ukrainian counterpart on Russian misinformation. MPs will question the Defence Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Northern Ireland Secretary. Scrutiny of seven Government bills will continue in both Houses. Debate topics in the Commons will include an e-petition on transgender self-identification, and support for local pubs. On the Committee corridor, highlights include sessions on the security of undersea cables and the accessibility of the parliamentary estate. Michael Gove will be formally introduced to the House of Lords as its newest member.

Submissions / Status and rights of independent MPs in Parliament – Our evidence to the House of Commons Procedure Committee

Our evidence on the status and rights of independent MPs has been published by the House of Commons Procedure Committee. Our submission summarises the direct and indirect references to political parties in the Standing Orders and whether they might apply to groupings of independent MPs, analyses whether small parties and independent groupings face disadvantages, particularly in relation to committee membership, and considers whether parliamentary publications should distinguish between the many different kinds of independent MP.

Blog / The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: What happens when detail is deferred?

The Hansard Society has long raised concerns about the Government's increasing tendency to present undeveloped legislation that lacks detailed policy and grants ministers broad delegated powers to fill in the gaps later. This practice undermines effective parliamentary scrutiny, by preventing MPs and Peers from fully assessing how powers may be used, (or misused), in the future. The weak system for overseeing delegated legislation—especially in the Commons—exacerbates the problem. Several powers in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently before Parliament highlight these ongoing issues.

News / Assisted dying bill: Special series #12 - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 93

Is Kim Leadbeater's Assisted Dying Bill now "over the hump?" The Bill's supporters got it though its first day of Report Stage consideration in the House of Commons unscathed, with comfortable majorities in every vote. So, with debate on the most contentious set of amendments disposed of, will it now coast through its remaining scrutiny days in the Commons? Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Submissions / Evidence to the House of Commons Modernisation Committee: Priorities and strategic aims

In response to the Modernisation Committee's call for views on 17 October 2024, we submitted evidence outlining key areas we believe the Committee should prioritise. Our submission recommended a focus on: strengthening legislative scrutiny, with particular emphasis on reforming the delegated legislation system; enhancing financial scrutiny, especially in relation to the Budget and the Estimates; addressing strategic gaps in parliamentary scrutiny; making more effective use of parliamentary time; and reviewing the Standing Orders, language and rituals of the House of Commons.