Rwanda Bill becomes law: but what was really going on behind the scenes in Parliament?

The Rwanda Bill has made it over the parliamentary finishing line but not without some last-minute drama. We talk to the SNP’s Alison Thewliss MP about what went on in a small room behind the Speaker’s Chair away from the cameras!

And what on earth is going on in the minds of MPs, after another in a succession of sleaze scandals hits Westminster. This time it’s Mark Menzies MP who has resigned from the Conservative Party and won’t stand again at the general election. He’s facing accusations of fraud and misconduct after telephoning an elderly constituency member claiming he’d been locked up by “bad people” who were demanding money. Are MPs – or specifically male MPs – simply big risk-takers or is there something else at work?

Meanwhile, the exodus from Westminster continues to grow: the number of MPs standing down at the next election has now passed the 100-mark. The data reveals some interesting developments that will affect the parties and select committees in the next Parliament.

And farewell to Frank Field – the backbenchers’ backbencher - and one of the most extraordinary parliamentarians of the last 40 years. We reflect on his lifetime in politics, particularly his outstanding work as a select committee chair, and Mark remembers a tricky visit to Field’s Birkenhead constituency while reporting for the BBC. 

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Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Producer: Gareth Jones

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