Parliament
The court favourite who became the most hated man in England
Lucy Hughes-Hallett traces the brief, dramatic career of the handsome Duke of Buckingham – scapegoat for the early Stuarts’ extravagance and incompetence
Who has the worst voice in parliament?
For the first time in more than two decades we are dog-less, and the house feels horribly empty. Our Patterdale…
Confessions of a catnapper
As Christopher Snowdon recently pointed out, the past few governments have had a habit of passing laws that are either…
What makes MPs special
On Monday, the House of Commons passed, by one vote, a motion to allow MPs to be suspended from parliament…
Daily life at the 18th-century Bank of England
Anne L. Murphy provides a vivid picture of clients, clerks and couriers, pay and perks, cases of fraud and incompetence and the underappreciated threat of fire and violence
Parliament's poignant tributes to the Queen
That so many people have wanted to say something about how the Queen touched their lives, whether or not they…
Boris’s desperate tearoom tour
This afternoon, a text message went out to certain Tory MPs telling them that the Prime Minister was going to…
Zelensky's address was strange, but sensational
This afternoon, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the House of Commons. A single flat-screen TV broadcast his speech to…
Boris is about to give Silicon Valley censors more power than ever
Four years in the making, the Online Safety Bill has now been sent to senior ministers for review — a…
Mob hound Starmer outside parliament
An uneventful Monday was enlivened this evening by some rather unappealing scenes outside parliament. Walking back from a Ministry of…
A rather pointless PMQs lets Boris off the hook
Given the extraordinarily low expectations, Prime Minister’s Questions went reasonably well for Boris Johnson today. That is partly because it…
Fresh fears over parliamentary police
It’s been a pretty dreadful week for security at the Palace of Westminster. First, there was the admission that a…
Chinese spy suspect infiltrates parliament
As if there wasn’t enough drama in parliament today. Peers and MPs have just been warned that a suspected agent working for the…
Parliament, not judges, should decide our laws
The British commentariat has not covered itself in glory in its reaction to Dominic Raab’s proposed reforms to judicial review.…
Boris Johnson will struggle to contain this sleaze row
A week ago today, Tory MPs were getting increasingly nervous about Downing Street’s plan to stay the guilty verdict against…
Abolish the Lords!
So three million quid gets you a seat in the House of Lords? That’s according to the latest revelations about…
Parliament hit by food shortages
What with an energy crisis, a fuel crisis and a food crisis, you would think MPs have enough on their plates.…
Now I’m a backbencher, I’m free to speak my mind
Politicians are supposed to have a survival instinct. Mine didn’t kick in last week, so I had no idea that…
Mr Speaker is right to give scruffy MPs a dressing down
MPs are making their way back to Parliament with an order from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle ringing in their ears.…
Covid collapse fails to revive MPs' bars
The bars at Parliament have played host to many scenes over the years – plots, arguments, merriment and even fisticuffs –…
British MPs are finally engaging with the gender identity debate
I used to write a lot about sex and gender here. I don’t do so quite as much these days…
The dangers of televising lobby briefings
The dangers of televising lobby briefings
The truth about the new BBC chairman? He won't make much difference
The ‘pre-appointment hearings’ system overseen by parliament’s select committees doesn’t exactly set the heart racing; a pale imitation of the…
How Boris should pick his peers
It is no credit to British democracy that we have the second largest legislative chamber in the world. The only…
