What’s coming up in Parliament this week, 23-27 March 2026 Read our latest Parliament Matters Bulletin - our weekly analysis of what’s happening in the House of Commons and House of Lords

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News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 23-27 March 2026

The Prime Minister will face questions from the Liaison Committee, comprising Select Committee chairs. The Conservatives will choose the topic for Tuesday’s Opposition Day debate, while the Home Secretary and the Energy and Transport Secretaries will take oral questions from MPs. The Commons will consider Lords amendments to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, National Insurance Bill, and Victims and Courts Bill, and will continue Committee Stage scrutiny of elections legislation. In the Lords, the Pension Schemes and the Crime and Policing Bills will complete their final stages, while Peers continue scrutiny of the English Devolution Bill. MPs will also debate an e-petition on the puberty blockers trial. Select Committees will focus on child poverty, dynamic alignment, the Defence Investment Plan, energy resilience, national resilience, and Royal Mail service delivery.

News / Who really decides Immigration Rules: Parliament or the Home Secretary? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 137

Who really controls immigration law when Ministers can rewrite key rules with minimal parliamentary scrutiny? Jonathan Featonby of the Refugee Council explains the Home Secretary’s far-reaching powers over Immigration Rules. We also discuss the Crime and Policing Bill, where amendments on AI and abortion highlight the challenges posed by rushed law-making and executive overreach. And we look ahead to the next phase of the assisted dying debate, as supporters in the House of Commons prepare for a renewed legislative push in the next parliamentary Session. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

News / Jury trials under threat? The Courts and Tribunals Bill explained - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 136

Plans to restrict the right to a jury trial have cleared their Second Reading in the Commons, but the proposals in the Courts and Tribunals Bill face growing resistance, including from Labour rebels. We discuss the legal and constitutional implications with barrister Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, examining what the reforms could mean for defendants’ rights and the criminal courts system. We also assess the passage of legislation removing hereditary Peers from Parliament, and the late compromise that eased opposition in the House of Lords. Meanwhile Sir Lindsay Hoyle clashes with the Chief Whip over delays in the division lobby, and newly released papers on Peter Mandelson’s Washington appointment raise fresh political questions. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

Briefings / Last-minute powers and limited scrutiny: Parliament and the risks of consigning online safety law to delegated legislation

Two late-stage government amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill would grant Ministers significant powers to reshape key parts of the Online Safety Act through delegated legislation. While the policy goals may attract support, the method raises serious constitutional concerns about parliamentary scrutiny and accountability. Using these amendments as a case study, this briefing explores the risks of relying on regulations to make policy and explains how the Hansard Society’s proposed reforms to the delegated legislation scrutiny system could better balance governmental flexibility with democratic oversight.

News / Is the assisted dying bill being filibustered? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 135

Debate over the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been so slow in the House of Lords that opponents of the Bill are accused of deliberately running down the clock. Conservative Peer Lord Harper rejects claims of filibustering, arguing that Peers are undertaking necessary scrutiny of a flawed and complex bill. He contends the legislation lacks adequate safeguards and was unsuited to the Private Member’s Bill process and discusses whether MPs might attempt to revive it in a future parliamentary Session. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

Blog / The Backbench Business Committee 15 years on: Has it given backbench MPs a stronger voice in the House of Commons?

Submissions / Written Parliamentary Questions - Our evidence to the House of Commons Procedure Committee

News / The forgotten pioneer: Who was Margaret Bondfield, Britain’s first female Cabinet Minister? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 132

News / Assisted dying bill: How could the Parliament Act be used? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 128

Britain Votes: The 2024 General Election

Edited by Alistair Clark, Louise Thompson and Stuart Wilks-Heeg (Published: November 2025)

The general election of 2024 was a record-breaking election. It was a contest that produced the highest swing in the post-war era, delivering a Labour landslide and reducing the Conservatives to their lowest ever level of parliamentary representation. This special edition of our journal, Parliamentary Affairs, explains how and why this remarkable electoral turnaround was achieved.

Britain Votes: The 2024 General Election brings together contributions from leading electoral scholars including Professor Sir John Curtice, Professor Tim Bale, Professor Eunice Goes, Professor Ailsa Henderson, Professor James Mitchell, Professor Justin Fisher, and Professor Philip Cowley. It is edited by Professor Alistair Clark, Dr Louise Thompson and Professor Stuart Wilks-Heeg.

Read selected chapters free for a limited time.
Listen to the editors discuss the book's key findings on our Parliament Matters podcast.
Buy the book at all good bookshops or online from Oxford University Press.

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Blog

Blog / What role does Parliament play in the Spending Review?

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.

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.

Blog / Breaching the 0.7% international aid target: a case study in legislative failure

The Prime Minister’s plan to cut international aid breaches the Government’s legal duty to meet the 0.7% spending target, raising constitutional concerns. Should an Act allow for premeditated non-compliance? Can a statutory duty imposed on Government by Parliament be overturned by a ministerial statement? And when a law’s purpose is abandoned, should it be amended or repealed? The fate of this Act exposes the flaws in declaratory legislation, weak parliamentary scrutiny, and executive dominance of Parliament.

Blog / Six things we learnt from the 2024 election of select committee members

Following a series of internal parliamentary party elections, the House of Commons nominated the members of its select committees last October. But what do the election results tell us about the makeup of the select committees? Are the parties represented proportionally? Are men and women equally represented? How many ethnic minority MPs were elected to committees? What role did parliamentary experience and the size of an MP's majority play?

Blog / Select committee chair elections: what do the results tell us about the new Parliament?

The House of Commons recently held elections for the chairs of its select committees in the new Parliament. But how did this year's elections compare to those of previous years? Were they more competitive? How well were women and ethnic minority MPs represented among the candidates and winners? And what level of parliamentary experience do the newly elected chairs bring to the table?

Blog / MPs and the parliamentary oath of allegiance: A shibboleth under scrutiny?

Blog / Puberty blockers legislation: has the parliamentary calendar undermined accountability?

Blog / How delegated legislation is being used to tackle the prisons crisis

Blog / A House more divided: Practice and procedure in a multipolar Parliament

Publications

Briefings / Delegated powers in the assisted dying bill: Issues for the attention of the House of Lords

Like many pieces of primary legislation, the assisted dying bill leaves much of the practical and policy detail to be worked out later by Ministers through regulations. After the Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Commons, we published a briefing which drew attention to two of its delegated powers. But since then the Bill has been heavily amended, prompting new questions: how have its delegated powers evolved, do these changes strengthen or weaken the approach to the delegation of ministerial power, and are further amendments needed and if so, why?

Briefings / Assisted dying bill: what will happen on Friday 20 June?

On Friday 20 June, MPs will cast one of the most important votes of their parliamentary careers: the Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. This final vote in the Commons will determine whether the Bill proceeds to the House of Lords. Before reaching that stage, MPs must complete the remaining votes from the Report Stage. This briefing outlines what happened during the last day of Report Stage, identifies which amendments and new clauses may still be voted on, and sets out the expected sequence of events for the day, including the proceedings for Third Reading.

Briefings / Assisted dying bill: what will happen on Friday 13 June?

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.

Submissions / Parliamentary scrutiny of treaties - Our evidence to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee

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.

Submissions / Framework legislation and Henry VIII powers: Our evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee 2025

The Hansard Society provided written evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee as part of its inquiry into framework legislation and Henry VIII powers. Our Director subsequently gave oral evidence to the Committee on XXX. Our written evidence and a transcript of the oral evidence session are included on this page. Our evidence argued that

Briefings / Assisted dying - The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Rolling news

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

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

Briefings / The assisted dying bill: How does the amendment process work?

Journal

Journal / The evolution of election campaigning: Insights from Parliamentary Affairs

How have election campaign strategies evolved over the past 15 years to shape today's political landscape? This special collection of articles from our journal, Parliamentary Affairs, highlights the increasing sophistication and personalisation of national and constituency-level campaigns. It explores how political parties target key voter groups, leverage constituency visits from party leaders for electoral gains, and increasingly rely on digital campaigning.

Journal / Parliamentary Affairs call for papers: Special section on the state of British politics in 2024/5

This call for papers is for a special section of Parliamentary Affairs on the state of British politics in 2024/5. It will identify the key institutions, issues and challenges that need to be addressed by any new Government taking over in 2025, following the general election expected at the end of 2024.

Journal / Marking 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement – Parliamentary Affairs special collection

To mark 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, we have curated a special collection of articles from our journal Parliamentary Affairs. The articles cover a range of themes, from devolution and the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly to peacebuilding, consociation and women's rights.

Journal / Marking 20 years since Parliament approved military action in Iraq – Parliamentary Affairs special collection

To mark 20 years since the House of Commons voted to approve military action in Iraq on 18 March 2003, we have curated a special collection of articles from our journal Parliamentary Affairs. The articles cover a range of themes from the Hutton Inquiry and the Iraq Dossier to war powers and the Government's use of secret intelligence.

Journal / Parliamentary Affairs 75th Anniversary special collection on House of Lords reform

To mark the Parliamentary Affairs 75th Anniversary Lecture, delivered by the Speaker of the House of Lords on the topic of reform of the Upper House, we have curated a special collection of articles from the journal archives, exploring Lords reform from unique perspectives and different historical contexts since the journal's inaugural issue in December 1947.

Latest / Highlights

Britain Votes: The 2024 General Election

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