Watching Parliament

When I first became interested in the British Parliament, it wasn't easy to follow proceedings. Yes, there was better coverage in the serious newspapers - but it consisted of written excerpts from the previous days speeches. Hansard was available for a modest price - but not living close to an H.M.S.O office meant they were hard to come by; and Today in Parliament meant both staying up VERY late, to listen to what was in effect the equivalent of the reading of a newspaper report. Apart from Hansard, the reports left control of what was covered in the hands of editors.

Worst of all - access to materials which explained what was happening; and why things were done a certain way - was not easy.

Thankfully that has changed.

Live and recorded video of proceedings are available at Parliament Live. This covers not just the chambers, but committees (which in my view are much more interesting). The BBC also has a number of live feeds on BBC Democracy Live.

There are many sources of information to better understand what is happening. The Parliamentary website is worth exploring. Not only does it give background information on how parliament works, but you can learn more about the MPs and Peers that you are watching, the committees, AND get up on screen the documents that are being used (Commons):(Lords).

The best introduction to Parliament at the moment is, in my view - "How Parliament Works"



It is also available in 'Kindle' format. (you can use the search box for Kindle on the left hand side of the blog. Commission received from Amazon helps me to keep these blogs going).

Keeping an eye on Congress and Parliament

When I was younger - the only way to follow Parliament was through reports in newspapers or by buying Hansard. Radio, then TV broadcasting from the chambers, only arrived later. Live coverage from inside Congress came earlier - and the Watergate hearings were televised - but it remained difficult even in the early part of the 21st century to follow Congress.

However thanks to the internet, it's now easy to follow events in Congress; the British Parliament; the European Parliament; and the French Assemblee nationale.

C-SPAN came first, then we had the Parliamentary Channel. Now the websites offer not just live coverage from the chambers, but other programming about history and current affairs.

C-SPAN covers the House of Representatives when it is in session. C-SPAN 2 does the same for the Senate. When the Chambers are not sitting (which can be for the major part even of a sitting day, there are other programmes. C-SPAN 3 also covers external events. If you haven't already, it is worth exploring the C-SPAN website. You may never need to watch TV again. (This is my wife's worry with me). There is also C-SPAN Radio. I often listen to this during the night, or when cooking/washing up via the C-SPAN app on my iPad.

BBC Parliament is available online as well as via Freeview in the UK.  There is a wider "Democracy Live" website which includes live feeds form the House of Lords; Committees; and the legislatures in Scotland; Wales & Northern Ireland. There is also a section for the EU.

Europarl TV covers the European Parliament - and gives access to live debates as well as producing a number of excellent videos on specific issues.

The French Assemblee nationale is covered by LCP.

Recall of Parliament

Today both Houses of Parliament have been recalled from recess to pay tribute to Baroness Thatcher. There have been 25 recalls of Parliament since 1948. Both Houses will meet at 14.30. If you wish to watch, BBC Parliament will be broadcasting (Channel 81 on Freeview and Channel 504 on Sky); and on the internet you can access both Houses at Parliamentlive.tv and democracylive.

The House of Commons Library has a short paper on the recall of Parliament. It is available here.

Westminster Returns

While Americans enjoy the last day of the summer holidays, MPs and Peers are back to work today.

To follow the days business you can -


Read the Order papers for each House -

Commons        Lords

Follow the live broadcasts on Democracy Live (Chambers & Committees)

Mark D'Arcy from the BBC has written an article highlighting what's coming up - accessible here.

As from early tomorrow morning, a podcast will be available of "Today in Parliament" - to sign up for it go here.

I now spend a couple of days a week down at Westminster - and will be writing posts explaining what is going on.

New Initiative to Open up the Lords

This announcement appears on the Parliamentary website -

You’ll be able to have your say in a debate taking place in the House of Lords this Thursday through a new online initiative with the BBC Have Your Say website where your views will be fed directly to Members taking part.

BBC Have Your Say: Lords Debate: The value of good parenting?

The initiative aims to provide a new and accessible way for people to engage with the House of Lords and share their views on issues that concern them. It also gives Members of the Lords the opportunity to gain insights from a wider audience to inform their work.

You’ll be able to share your views on the role of good early parenting in preparing a child for success in school – which will be debated in the House of Lords next week – by posting your comments to a forum hosted by the BBC.

You’ll also be able to talk to Lord Northbourne firsthand, who proposed and will open and close the Lords debate, by taking part in a live web chat on Tuesday 1 February.

A summary of your comments will be forwarded to the Members of the Lords taking part in the debate before it takes place to help inform them of related issues affecting everyday lives. You can also post comments during the debate and watch it live on Parliament TV, as well as BBC Democracy Live. The debate will take place in the House of Lords on Thursday 3 February.

Lord Northbourne, a Crossbench Member who speaks regularly in the House of Lords about education and children, will focus on how an important minority of the nation’s children are today failing to achieve their potential in school. He will outline several strategies which could help and support disadvantaged parents in their parenting.

Other Members scheduled to take part in the debate include:

Baroness Crawley (Labour), a former teacher and youth theatre leader
The Bishop of Oxford, who will be making his maiden speech
Lord Hill of Oareford (Conservative), Schools Minister at the Department for Education
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), a former primary school teacher and university professor
Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat), former children’s television presenter
Baroness Hollins (Crossbench), expert in learning difficulties
Baroness Howe of Idlicote (Crossbench), former chair of the Inner London Juvenile Court
Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative), who will be making her maiden speech
Baroness Sharp of Guildford (Liberal Democrat), Governor for a Guildford primary school
Baroness Massey of Darwen (Labour), a former French and English teacher who also ran a community playgroup for seven years
Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat), a former teacher and ambassador for the NSPCC

Further information

The debate on the role of good early parenting in preparing a child for success in school is scheduled to take place on Thursday 3 February, following short introduction ceremonies and oral questions. It is due to run for approximately 2.5 hours.

Watch the debate live on Parliament TV (Thursday 3 February, from approx 11.45am)
Lords Hansard: Read a transcript of the debate from Today in the Lords (available 3 hours after debate starts)

House of Lords debates

Debates on specific issues of public policy account for nearly one third of business in the House of Lords chamber and are an opportunity to discuss important topical issues and draw the government’s attention to concerns and questions.

Members have a correspondingly wide range of professional expertise and specialist knowledge to underpin the arguments they deploy in the debates and, in this way, the debates can play an important role in shaping future policy and laws.

Members of the public can attend House of Lords debates and follow proceedings from the public gallery.

Navigating around Washminster

This blog has evolved since it first appeared on 7th March 2007. All entries can be read by using the Blog Archive on the right hand side. They are sorted by Year and Month. Alternatively it is possible to search for particular words or phrases. [Towards the top right hand corner].

Over the next few weeks - as a number of my Open University students face exams - I will be preparing new posts about issues that may well come up in the exam [W200 Law: Understanding Law; W201 Law: The Individual & the State]. However further information may be uncovered by using the search facility!

A "Twitter" stream is available under the the Plaxo Badge. These tweets may, or may not, be related to Washminster matters - but I often use twitter to highlight a matter in the news.

Under "Watch" there are direct links to
"BBC Democracy Live" - which has feeds from the House of commons; House of Lords; Select committees; the Scottish Parliament; Welsh Assembly; and the European Parliament;
"C-SPAN 2" - The US Senate, live when the Senate is in session - other programmes when it is not sitting
"C-SPAN 1 " - The House of Representatives

Under "US Congress" there are direct links to
"Bob Carr's HoR Schedule" - Bob Carr represented Michigan districts (the boundaries and District Number changed with redistrictings). He lives and works in Washington DC and maintains this schedule of sittings.
and the official websites of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

A direct link to the UK Parliament is available below that.

David's Favourite Blogs - links to the latest posts on a number of blogs which deal with the US Congress and UK Parliament.

The headings of "Parliament" and "Congress" are fed with news stories in which the terms above are used - they often are about the US Congress and UK Parliament, but may not necessarily be so.