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This is where you can come for my take on what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms around Westminster
20:10 UK time, Friday, 17 May 2013
It's been a scattato couple of months for Parliament, what with the Easter break, prorogation and, next week, Whitsun.
And honourable members and noble lords are off on another break next week, returning on 3 June. But they do manage to cram in a fair bit of activity afore they go....with the focus of the Commons action the report and third reading stages of the Marriage (Same Sex Coupes) Bill.
10:52 UK time, Thursday, 16 May 2013
The sloshing sound I could hear in the background, as I rang James Wharton MP to break the news that he'd just topped the ballot for private members bills for the coming year, must have been his cup running over. He managed to conceal his delight.
He told me he would consult with colleagues and his constituency (Stockton South) before deciding whether to pick up the Conservative draft bill on an EU referendum.
14:40 UK time, Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Mr Speaker Bercow has sprung quite an important surprise on the Commons.
He's allowed not two, but three amendments to the motion on the Queen's Speech to be voted on today. A slightly bemused Leader of the Commons, Andrew Lansley, politely asked if he would set out the "application of the terms of standing order 33 relating to the number of amendments that are selectable…"
14:51 UK time, Tuesday, 14 May 2013
With 78 signatures and counting, will the John Baron amendment to the Queen's Speech (alright, I know, amendment to the motion for a Loyal Address) be called by Mr Speaker?
The decision won't be made until the Wednesday morning meeting, when John Bercow and his inner cabinet of clerks and deputies go through the day's business, but on the normal criteria, it seems highly likely that the amendment will be called.
15:46 UK time, Friday, 10 May 2013
The appearance of a rebel amendment on the Queen's Speech, regretting the lack of a referendum on Britain's EU membership, has transformed the debate from ritual combat to something much more threatening for the government.
Most of the names attached to it so far are pretty predictable - although former leadership contender David Davis picks his battles pretty carefully, so his appearance in the list is significant.
15:01 UK time, Friday, 10 May 2013
In the brief interlude between the Queen's Speech and the Whitsun recess, the select committees are cramming in a fair amount of activity on an impressive array of subjects.
My two picks of the week are the Human Rights Committee session on the Same Sex Marriage Bill (Tuesday), and the Public Accounts Committee hearing on tax avoidance, on Thursday.
09:55 UK time, Friday, 10 May 2013
How threatened by the rise of UKIP should sitting MPs feel?
Nobody is quite sure, yet, whether Nigel Farage's party will be able to capitalise on the substantial slice of local power it won last week, but a share of power in a few County Halls is a huge opportunity for them.
15:06 UK time, Thursday, 9 May 2013
As predicted, an amendment to the motion of thanks for the Queen's Speech has gone down, regretting the lack of a bill to allow an EU referendum…
The signatories so far are: John Baron, Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone, Philip Davies, Douglas Carswell, Edward Leigh, John Redwood, Bernard Jenkin and David Davis (Con). Plus John Cryer and Kelvin Hopkins (Lab). And there's plenty of time for more names to be added…
16:00 UK time, Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Parliament this week is a bit of a one-trick pony. Business will be almost entirely devoted to the ceremonial and policy substance of the Queen's Speech.
On Wednesday, Westminster re-opens for business with the usual blaze of Victorian pageantry - the Sovereign's procession, the ceremonial progress to the House of Lords. Black Rod will strike the door of the Commons three times, and summon MPs to the House of Peers. Dennis Skinner will deliver his ceremonial joke, and Conservative MPs will groan their traditional groan, before filing behind their Leader to hear the speech.
12:43 UK time, Tuesday, 7 May 2013
As Darth Vader might say, I feel a great disturbance in The Force.
One way or another, a lot of Conservative MPs are determined to get a bill for an in-out EU referendum before the Commons in the coming parliamentary year - and there are several ways in which they could make it happen.
15:27 UK time, Thursday, 2 May 2013
Has the government just tightened, ever so slightly, its grip on the windpipe of Parliament?
The appointment of several MPs to the Conservatives' new Parliamentary Advisory Board is interesting for all sorts of reasons: the personnel are impressive and the mandate to inject more Toryism into government policy should produce plenty of action.
13:06 UK time, Tuesday, 23 April 2013
To an outsider the annual end of term bout of parliamentary ping-pong is one of the most mystifying Westminster rituals. It's a high-stakes legislative game, often carried out at the dead of night, with MPs and peers succumbing to their tribal loathing….of the other House.
As an aid to the bemused I offer this cut-out-'n-keep guide to what's going on.
22:05 UK time, Sunday, 21 April 2013
This could be the final week of the parliamentary year - if the Lords and Commons can agree on the final form of several bills, in the usual year-end frenzy of parliamentary ping-pong.
Several key issues still have to be sorted out, with the added spice that if agreement is not reached by the time the music stops, whole bills could be lost.
11:55 UK time, Friday, 19 April 2013
The end of the parliamentary year may be looming, but the select committees are still hard at work, with a galaxy of promising looking evidence sessions scheduled for this week.
Everything from specific scandals to controversies around current legislation to big-picture policy is under the microscope. There don't seem to be many big-name ministers stalking the committee corridor, but there's still plenty to chew on....
15:34 UK time, Friday, 12 April 2013
The shape of the Commons week will be a little different, with the House expected to postpone its normal sitting-time on Wednesday to allow for the funeral of Lady Thatcher, and to cancel prime minister's questions that day, because the normal knockabout would be inappropriate.
A motion to make those changes to the schedule, in the name of the Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley, is down on the order paper, and must be agreed by the whole House.
12:52 UK time, Wednesday, 27 March 2013
So. Farewell. Then. David Miliband. The former great white hope of the Blairites and ex-foreign secretary is leaving Parliament to run a major international charity.
People tend to get a bit snarky about politicians upping sticks between elections, partly because by-elections are not cheap, and the voters don't much like being bothered with avoidable trips to the polling station. But there's something else to be factored in; if you don't want to be in Parliament, you shouldn't be there.
14:04 UK time, Friday, 22 March 2013
There's quite a lot of action packed into a half-week before MPs and peers depart for their Easter break.... with the Budget and some interesting backbench debates in the Commons, and some tight-looking votes ahead on several Government measures in the Lords.
Here's my rundown...
13:09 UK time, Friday, 22 March 2013
Even though the Commons is only sitting for two days next week, MPs still manage to cram in some fairly significant committee business....and as Easter looms, watch out for some important reports.
Here's my rundown...
13:52 UK time, Thursday, 21 March 2013
I've now seen two superb dramas, this year, which have centred on the fine art of parliamentary whipping.
The first was Lincoln, where the plot centred on the President's attempts to persuade the US Congress to abolish slavery. The second, which I saw last night, was James Graham's wonderful play, This House, being played to packed houses at the National Theatre.
17:42 UK time, Wednesday, 20 March 2013
In the end, Parliament won.
There was a clear majority in both Commons and Lords for some form of Leveson-style press regulation, and the lesson of the events leading up to Monday's votes on press regulation is that, given enough persistence, a parliamentary majority can find a way to have its way.
Mark has been a correspondent for Today in Parliament since 2002, and also presents BBC Parliament's political book review show, Book Talk.
His career has included stints at LWT's Weekend World and the Leicester Mercury. He has also produced and occasionally presented Radio 4's The Westminster Hour.
As well as being a politics nerd, he is a cricket fanatic, amateur cook and Bruce Springsteen fan.
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