House of Lords Podcast: Lord Speaker's Corner

House of Lords

Have you ever wondered what the House of Lords does, how it works and who makes up its membership?

The House of Lords is the second chamber of UK Parliament. It plays a crucial role in examining bills, questioning government action and investigating public policy.

Hear from members of the House of Lords as the Lord Speaker finds out what influences their work in and beyond the Lords.

Each episode sees the Lord Speaker discover what drives members and what they hope to achieve in their time in Parliament.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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58 episodes
Updated July 5

Episodes58

Newest first

July 5 · 34 min
Prisons Minister Lord Timpson
Shares how his childhood shaped a career built on giving people a second chance
June 14 · 40 min
Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani
The Iranian-born bishop joins Lord Forsyth for a new series
January 29 · 41 min
Lord McFall of Alcluith | Lord Speaker's Corner
The tables are turned as outgoing Lord Speaker Lord McFall of Alcluith is the guest on his own podcast. As Lord McFall of Alcluith prepares to step down after nearly five years as Lord Speaker, he speaks to fellow Scottish peer and broadcaster Baroness (Ayesha) Hazarika. This episode looks back at Lord McFall’s extraordinary personal journey into politics, and his nearly 40 years at Westminster as an MP, minister and peer, culminating in his election as the fourth Lord Speaker. Lord McFall shares his views on populism in politics, as well as on the crucial role of the House of Lords in enhancing legislation through scrutiny and debate and holding government to account. Lord McFall says it is strange to be on the other side of the microphone as he reflects on a childhood shaped by his working-class upbringing in Dumbarton, leaving school at 15 with no formal qualifications, and a family that valued community over status. “It was pretty negative when I was 15 or 16, not knowing where I was going and as you rightly say, the first job was in the parks department, weeding,” he tells Baroness Hazarika. “I never thought I would become an MP.” He recalls, as chairman of the powerful Commons Treasury Select Committee for nine years, calling financiers to account for the global banking and financial crisis of 2008; as a new Northern Ireland Minister just two days into the role, experiencing at first-hand the impact of the Omagh bomb atrocity which killed 29 people and unborn twins; and his firm belief that the House of Lords serves and assists democracy and is critical to making “good law”. Listen now to find out more. See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 8, 2025 · 43 min
Lord Gove: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Fragmentation of politics, Brexit and The Celebrity Traitors
Nov 17, 2025 · 48 min
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and Lord West of Spithead: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Defence, security, Russia and China are on the agenda
Sep 28, 2025 · 47 min
Baroness Manningham-Buller: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Hear from the former head of MI5
Sep 4, 2025 · 46 min
Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner as she sounds the alarm over the deepening gender divide in tech. Martha Lane Fox is Chancellor of The Open University, and President of the British Chambers of Commerce. In 1998 she co-founded Europe’s largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com. From 2009-2013, she helped create the Government Digital Service and, in 2013, she joined the House of Lords as a Crossbench member. Baroness Lane-Fox is a long-time advocate for women in technology, telling the Lord Speaker she had “seen no change in the relationship between the sector and women, or in numbers of women” in over 30 years. She also gives a stark warning about entrenched sexism in the global tech sector, recounting how a CEO of a large company told her directly “We’re done with women” at a prominent US business event earlier this year. Baroness Lane-Fox discusses the challenges of investment in the UK, explaining “we have a default in this country … (of) seeing the barriers to things as opposed to the opportunities.” She also shares her opinion that the UK has an issue with scaling businesses, stating “We have the top three universities out of the top 10 in the world. We have amazing scientists, we have incredible inventors. But what we have is a stunning scaling gap, and experience gap … Only 10% of UK businesses even trade internationally. We are not very good at becoming big global businesses. So we need to keep having a push at the risk culture.” Finally, Baroness Lane-Fox shares her take on regulating tech, smartphones for young people and even what her go-to karaoke song is. Find out more by watching or listening now. See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 17, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
Baroness Helic: Lord Speaker’s Corner
‘War and conflict is not something that is not familiar to me. It is not an essay title, it is not a theoretical exercise. It's very real.’ Campaigner Baroness Helic is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner as she warns that society has become numb to sexual violence in war. Arminka Helic, Baroness Helic, campaigns to raise global awareness of rape as a war crime. Here she shares her extraordinary journey from fleeing the Bosnian war as a refugee to becoming special adviser to the then Foreign Secretary William Hague (now Lord Hague of Richmond) via a researcher job in the House of Commons library.  ‘It’s a weapon that is part of ethnic cleansing and genocide… Survivors are stigmatised. Perpetrators are not. That’s what we have to flip. Some of the victims are as young as two months old. And the world does nothing. We have become globally desensitised.’ While working for Lord Hague, she persuaded him to join forces with Angelina Jolie to highlight the proliferation of warzone sexual violence. The Hollywood actor and then UNHCR Special Envoy and actor had written, produced and directed a harrowing 2011 film ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’, which underscored the pervasive nature of sexual violence in war. Following this, the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) was created, which has continued across multiple governments and is now supported by Labour minister and special envoy Lord Collins of Highbury. ‘I heard reports of some of my friends from school being detained in what became known as rape camps. We need to understand that war is not just about armies - it’s about lives torn apart. Peace agreements don’t end trauma.’ In this episode, Baroness Helic warns that rising global conflict, weakened international institutions, and public desensitisation have dulled reactions to atrocities that once would have mobilised urgent action. She also discusses Israel/Gaza, and raises concerns about Russian influence in the Balkans, describing the region as a potential ‘second front’ of destabilisation through proxy actors.  See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 3, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Lord Moore of Etchingham: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Hear from the former Daily Telegraph editor
Jun 12, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
Lord O’Neill of Gatley: Lord Speaker’s Corner
The economist and former minister speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith
May 14, 2025 · 34 min
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Jenny Jones, one of two Green party Lords members, joins the Lord Speaker
Apr 2, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Lord Kinnock: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Neil Kinnock, former Labour leader, is the latest guest
Feb 12, 2025 · 44 min
Lord McDonald of Salford: Lord Speaker’s Corner
Hear from the former top diplomat
Jan 30, 2025 · 51 min
Baroness Hazarika: Lord Speaker's Corner
From politics to comedy to campaigning against anti-social behaviour
Dec 12, 2024 · 59 min
Lord Sedwill: Lord Speaker’s Corner
The former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Adviser speaks to the Lord McFall of Alcluith
Nov 21, 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
Lord Patten of Barnes: Lord Speaker's Corner
Outgoing Chancellor of the University of Oxford and former Governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten of Barnes speaks to the Lord Speaker
Oct 23, 2024 · 47 min
Lord Butler of Brockwell: Lord Speaker's Corner
Lord Butler discusses the Brighton hotel bombing and working with five prime ministers
Oct 2, 2024 · 1 hr
The Archbishop of Canterbury | Lord Speaker's Corner
Hear from Justin Welby, 105th Archbishop of Canterbury
Sep 11, 2024 · 44 min
Lord Evans of Weardale: Lord Speaker's Corner
Hear from the former head of MI5 and former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
May 8, 2024 · 43 min
Lord Anderson of Ipswich | Lord Speaker's Corner
Hear from the leading KC on sovereignty, terror legislation and more

House of Lords Podcast: Lord Speaker's Corner

Prisons Minister Lord Timpson

Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani

Lord McFall of Alcluith | Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Gove: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and Lord West of Spithead: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Baroness Manningham-Buller: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Baroness Helic: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord Moore of Etchingham: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord O’Neill of Gatley: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord Kinnock: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord McDonald of Salford: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Baroness Hazarika: Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Sedwill: Lord Speaker’s Corner

Lord Patten of Barnes: Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Butler of Brockwell: Lord Speaker's Corner

The Archbishop of Canterbury | Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Evans of Weardale: Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Anderson of Ipswich | Lord Speaker's Corner