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House of Lords Podcast

By: House of Lords
  • Summary

  • 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 Lord McFall of Alcluith discover what drives members and what they hope to achieve in their time in Parliament.


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Episodes
  • The Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees of Ludlow: Lord Speaker’s Corner
    Mar 26 2024
    Should Mars be our plan(et) B?Should we continue with manned spaceflight?


    Hear from the Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees of Ludlow, in the latest episode of Lord Speaker’s Corner.


    ‘Now that robots can do the things that humans were needed for 50 years ago, the case for sending people is getting weaker all the time.’

    In this episode, Martin Rees - astrophysicist, former President of the Royal Society, and now Lord Rees of Ludlow and Astronomer Royal – explains to Lord McFall of Alcluith that he thinks governments should no longer pay for manned spaceflight. He explains ‘robots can do all the practical things,’ meaning that ‘only people who really have a high appetite for risk should be going into space, and they should be privately funded, not by the rest of us.’


    Looking beyond Earth, Lord Rees also advocates for the need to focus effort on tackling climate change rather than looking to move to Mars. He suggests that ‘dealing with climate change on earth is a doddle compared to making Mars habitable.’


    ‘There's a risk that we will leave for our descendants a depleted world with mass extinction… I think it's an ethical imperative that we should change our policies so that, just as we benefit from the heritage of centuries past, we leave a positive heritage for the future.’


    From AI to bioethics, climate change to the disparities between the global north and south, Lord Rees shares his perspectives on some of the current challenges that we face. He also gives advice to ageing billionaires, saying ‘these billionaires when they were young, they want to be rich, now they're rich, they want to be young again, and that's not quite so easy to arrange.’


    See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/


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    50 mins
  • Lord Mandelson: Lord Speaker's Corner
    Mar 5 2024

    Peter Mandelson - former Cabinet minister, leading figure in New Labour and now Lord Mandelson - speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about his life in politics.


    ‘Born into the Labour Party’, Lord Mandelson began a career of campaigning at school, where he was reprimanded by his grammar school headteacher for advocating for comprehensive education.


    ‘It was very difficult in the 1980s. It made me, of course wonder whether I could ever be a Member of Parliament… And that's when I discovered the innate decency of human beings.’


    In this often personal interview, Lord Mandelson reflects on the difficulties he faced when he first stood for selection in Hartlepool in 1989 having been outed as a gay man by the News of the World in 1987. He also explains how the people of Hartlepool rallied behind him in the selection process to become their Labour candidate following an attack by his opponent.


    Lord Mandelson shares that he ‘loved being a minister’ and how his experience in television helped him prepare for the task of getting the public onboard with difficult decisions. He also talks about his experience of being in government, from his roles as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Business Secretary and the need for ‘big goals, big missions, clear policies consistently pursued over a long period.’


    ‘Now, this is a constantly flowing river of poison, of polarisation, of people being mean to and about everyone else. And my advice to politicians now is get off it. I'm not on Twitter.’

    Lord Mandelson also reflects on the changing political landscape with the rise of AI and social media culture today, warning colleagues to ‘Get off it, go out on the doorstep, talk to the public.’


    ‘A lot of clear, honest debate goes by the board, because people are so busy taking chunks out of each other. That's fine. That's the adversarial bit of politics. Our end of the parliamentary system is different. It's about scrutiny, it's about debate, it's about revising, it's about advising.’


    Finally, Lord Mandelson offers his perspective on the differences between the two Houses of Parliament, plans for reform and what might be next for him, telling the Lord Speaker ‘I'm looking forward to creating a third career.’


    See more from the series


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    56 mins
  • Lord Ricketts: Lord Speaker's Corner
    Feb 16 2024

    Former top diplomat Lord Ricketts speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about the conflicts in Israel/Gaza and Ukraine, the impact of Brexit and more in this episode of Lord Speaker’s Corner.


    Peter Ricketts, an expert in international relations and now a crossbench member of the House of Lords, has previously served as the UK’s ambassador to France and representative to Nato. He has been chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, was the UK’s first national security adviser and the most senior civil servant in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he was a diplomat for 40 years.


    ‘I think the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan are rather that you have to think about the longer term consequences. What is the political settlement you want to get to by your military intervention? And it's proved elusive in both Iraq and Afghanistan.’

     

    In this new interview, Lord Ricketts shares his expertise on a wide range of developments around the world. He explains how the change in international approach by countries such as the UK and USA have resulted in a more aggressive stance by Russia, Iran and China on the world stage. He also reflects on the likely outcomes of the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.


    ‘You begin to lose the challenge that the civil service ought to represent.’


    Lord Ricketts also offers his thoughts on politicisation of the civil service, what inspired him to work in the Foreign Office and the impact of frequent turnover of ministers in government departments.


    See more from the series

     


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    46 mins

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