Mark D’Arcy
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darcyxtip.bsky.social
Mark D’Arcy
@darcyxtip.bsky.social
Co-Presenter Parliament Matters podcast

https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliament-matters-podcast

Ex BBC Parliamentary Correspondent
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Love an R&R shout out on the @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters pod - and completely agree with @ruthfox.bsky.social & @darcyxtip.bsky.social about the prospect of getting the promised vote before the end of 2025. Listen/transcript www.hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliam... #WestminsterRR
October 17, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Yesterday, I chatted to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social of the @hansardsociety.bsky.social about what Parliament could do about Prince Andrew... you can listen to the Podcast at this link... pod.link/1714627828/e...
October 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Thanks to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social @hansardsociety.bsky.social for picking up on Meg Russell's oral evidence with @marcgeddes.uk and @stephenholdenbates.bsky.social this week.

She highlighted the lack of transparency around select committee member elections.

Listen 👇
Parliament vs. Prince Andrew
This week, we explore how far Parliament can go in holding members of the Royal Family to account, as pressure grows for MPs to scrutinise Prince Andrew’s finances and royal titles. We ask whether…
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Trying to make sense of the China spy case? Join @profmarkelliott.bsky.social, @ruthfox.bsky.social & @darcyxtip.bsky.social on our Parliament Matters podcast as they unpack the key issues and what they mean for Parliament.

🎧 New episode out tomorrow. Listen and subscribe here: pod.link/1714627828
October 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🎙️ Here's my @hansardsociety.bsky.social podcast with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social on 'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street' and ex-PMs in Parliament.

😊 Also do check out Theresa May's important Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in the resources section.

#Thatcher100
🎧 What happens when the most powerful person in the country suddenly… isn’t?
With Margaret Thatcher’s centenary approaching, and her legacy still dividing the Tory faithful, we talk to @expremiers.bsky.social about his new book exploring her life and politics after No 10.
Former Prime Ministers: The role of Parliament in life after No 10 - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 109
In this episode, we speak with Peter Just, author of a new book, Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street. Peter explores how Thatcher reinvented herself after her departure to maintain her…
buff.ly
October 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🚨 Unlike some of her more recent successors, Margaret Thatcher was keen to retain a parliamentary seat after Downing Street.

🎧 I discussed this with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social in a recent @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters podcast.

#Thatcher #Thatcher100

8/
October 5, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
The era of two-party politics is over

The Government faces an uphill struggle to win back voters, says @darcyxtip.bsky.social
Mark D’Arcy: The era of two-party politics is over
The Government faces an uphill struggle to win back voters, says Mark D’Arcy
www.churchtimes.co.uk
October 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🚨 I was delighted to discuss all things former Prime Ministers and Parliament - including 'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street' - with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social.

⬇️ Check out our conversation below.

#Thatcher100 #Thatcher #ParliamentAfterDowningStreet #ExPremiers
October 4, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
It was great to talk about all things PMQs with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social on @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliament Matters!

We discuss why France and Canada have experimented with PMQs, and why it may be time to retire the ‘engagements’ question.

youtu.be/OtpApR3fNQE?...
Prime Minister's Questions: Westminster's weekly gladiatorial combat
YouTube video by Hansard Society
youtu.be
August 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🎙️ NEW EPISODE: 1642: The King marches on Parliament. Soldiers at the Commons door. A failed arrest becomes a turning point in parliamentary history.

Historian @jonathanhealey.bsky.social tell us the gripping story in The Blood in Winter.

🎧 Listen now: buff.ly/JqOi8xH
August 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Meg Russell is on the latest episode of Parliament Matters from @hansardsociety.bsky.social with @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social.

She discusses the hereditary peers bill and our new opinion polling.

Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/2f59c4.

See our opinion polling 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....
July 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
'Parliamentarians should seize this opportunity now to implement a reform that has been decades (even centuries) in the making. I hope our poll offers them the confidence to do so.'

Meg Russell writes for @uk.theconversation.com ahead of the hereditary peers bill being debated today.

Read it 👇
Public wants much greater Lords reform than government’s modest plan – new survey
Asked whether the prime minister should have unlimited appointment powers, 79% wanted change.
theconversation.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
TUESDAY: What's coming up in Parliament today?

♿ MPs debate Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
💰 Chancellor answers oral questions from MPs
🏠 Peers debate Renters' Rights Bill

Read more🔽
buff.ly/0QTloAB
Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 30 June - 4 July 2025
MPs will vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Motions objecting to ratification of the UK–Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago will be debated by Peers. MPs…
www.hansardsociety.org.uk
July 1, 2025 at 7:31 AM
A Labour MP comments
A fascinating post from @conunitucl.bsky.social Director Meg Russell on House of Lords reform, especially the pressing need to constrain the size of the second chamber and tackle patronage 👇🏻
NEW BLOG: 10 reasons why the hereditary peers bill should be amended to constrain Prime Ministerial patronage and the size of the House of Lords

Ahead of the hereditary peers bill's report stage starting in the Lords tomorrow, our Director, Meg Russell, sets out why peers should amend the bill.
July 1, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Peers would have “overwhelming” public support if they used the govt’s bill to exclude the last hereditaries to push for wider reform to the House of Lords… according to UCL’s Constitution Unit
We have new opinion polling on House of Lords reform!

There is overwhelming public support to go beyond the government's current plans to remove hereditary peers (due to be debated in the Lords on Wednesday), including to limit prime ministerial appointments and cap the chamber's size.

A thread 👇
June 30, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🚨 QUESTIONS REQUEST🚨

Do you have a burning question about how Parliament works? Or why it doesn't!

@Darcyxtip.bsky.social and I
are back in the Parliament Matters studio to answer your questions tomorrow.

Use the link or reply below
⬇️hansardsociety.org.uk/pmuq
March 26, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
🚨 A new #ParliamentMatters podcast episode drops tomorrow morning!

We dive into the latest on the #AssistedDying Bill with Danny Kruger MP who has been a leading figure in the Bill Committee. He tells us what the experience has been like and what he thinks may happen next.
⬇️
March 20, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social about the New Zealand experience with assisted dying. An excellent discussion - but boy, do I talk fast! 🫢

podfollow.com/parliamentma...
Parliament Matters: Assisted dying bill - special series #6: Lessons from New Zealand
In this sixth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we continue to track the progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to legalise assisted dying in England and...
podfollow.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
The Hansard record from yesterday's public bill committee on the assisted dying bill is now online.

The committee's public discussion of the sittings motion, including witnesses, was far more extensive than for any other bill I remember. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (First sittin - Hansard - UK Parliament
Hansard record of the item : 'Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (First sitting)' on Tuesday 21 January 2025.
hansard.parliament.uk
January 22, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
👇Our latest episode about all things Westminster, including why I'm annoyed with the Government's response to the e-petition calling for a general election & the House of Lords tongue twister used to test @darcyxtip.bsky.social & other presenters of Today in Parliament on BBC Radio 4!
🎙️ NEW podcast episode.

🐦 Elon Musk's tweets influenced Parliament's agenda in 3 ways this week. What were they, why and should we be concerned?
❓ Why are there so many identically worded parliamentary questions? Who is orchestrating it?

Listen now: https://buff.ly/4083Yut
January 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
It's a busy start to the new parliamentary year. @darcyxtip.bsky.social & I will probably be discussing Elon Musk's impact on the parliamentary agenda, the debate on the petition for a general election and how new MPs are using Parliamentary Questions.

But do send us your questions as well! 👇
🚨 QUESTIONS REQUEST 🚨

Do you have a burning question about how Parliament works? (or why it doesn't!)

Our Parliament Matters team @darcyxtip.bsky.social & @ruthfox.bsky.social are back in the studio to answer your questions tomorrow.

Reply below or online here 👇
https://buff.ly/40Xv8nZ
January 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
This has to be the most dishonest reporting of an opinion poll I've ever seen

The survey actually found that over two thirds of voters *do not* think Starmer will be out of No 10 within a year.
January 5, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
This is extremely shoddy poll reporting.
This has to be the most dishonest reporting of an opinion poll I've ever seen

The survey actually found that over two thirds of voters *do not* think Starmer will be out of No 10 within a year.
January 5, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Mark D’Arcy
Very pleased to record Parliament Matters podcast today with @ruthfox.bsky.social @darcyxtip.bsky.social sharing stories from #NecessaryWomen! Out tomorrow
December 19, 2024 at 1:50 PM