£22 billion financial 'black hole': What is Parliament's role?

This week's bruising Commons exchange between the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the man she replaced at the Treasury, Jeremy Hunt, is just the opening encounter in what promises to be a long running parliamentary battle over the state of the public finances. MPs can expect to be asked to approve extra spending estimates in the autumn, and there'll be a Budget and a full-scale Comprehensive Spending Review as well. But why were MPs asked to approve £1.04 trillion in extra spending in July, without ministers pointing out that they believed the departmental budgets on which the spending was based to be dangerously flawed? And why the rush to push that extra spending through before the summer holidays.... Ruth reveals the link to a Victorian decision to ensure that gentlemen MPs could start their grouse-shooting on the Glorious 12th. The carve up of select committee chairs between the parties has also been announced, with most going to Labour, while the Conservatives will provide the chair of the Home Affairs Committee (a good vantage point from which to attack the Government on immigration) while the Lib Dems will provide the Chair of Health and Social Care (perhaps foreshadowing a cross party deal on Social Care?). And does the decision to scrap the European Scrutiny Committee mean MPs won't be able to monitor important changes in Britain's relationship with the EU? With more than a thousand new bag-carriers set to be hired by MPs to work with them in Parliament, Ruth and Mark talk to former union rep Max Freedman, who has just stepped down after 15 years chairing the Unite staff branch in Parliament about the perils and rewards of being a Westminster aide -cautioning that the reality is far from the glamour depicted in shows like the ‘West Wing’. 🎓 Learn more using our resources for the issues mentioned in this episode.❓ Send us your questions about Parliament:✅ Subscribe to our newsletter.📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety£ - Support the Hansard Society and this podcast by making a donation today.Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.Producer: Leo Bayles, The Podcast Company  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Join two of the UK's leading parliamentary experts, Mark D'Arcy and Ruth Fox, as they guide you through the often mysterious ways our politicians do business and explore the running controversies about the way Parliament works. Each week they will analyse how laws are made and ministers held accountable by the people we send to Westminster. They will be debating the topical issues of the day, looking back at key historical events and discussing the latest research on democracy and Parliament. Why? Because whether it's the taxes you pay, or the laws you've got to obey... Parliament matters!Mark D'Arcy was the BBC's parliamentary correspondent for two decades. Ruth Fox is the Director of the parliamentary think-tank the Hansard Society.❓ Submit your questions on all things Parliament to Mark and Ruth via our website here: hansardsociety.org.uk/pm#qs📱 Follow us across social media @HansardSociety and...✅ Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates related to the Parliament Matters podcast and the wider work of the Hansard Society: hansardsociety.org.uk/nl.Parliament Matters is a Hansard Society production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust • Founding producer Luke Boga Mitchell; episode producer Richard Townsend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.