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On this page you can find more information about our annual weekend, including a PDF version of the conference programme.
The Chatham House Rule
The SPG Annual Weekend operates under the Chatham House Rule by default. Where this rule may not apply, the chair of the respective panel session will make this clear. For those unfamiliar with the specifics of the Chatham House Rule, this means that “participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.” The Chatham House Rule always applies to the Q&A parts of any SPG event.
** Please note that the Chatham House Rule also applies to Twitter**
Friday 6th January
| Session | Time | Description |
| Welcome | 12:45-13:00 | Tom Healey, SPG Chair and Clerk of Bills, House of Commons Professor Cristina Leston Bandeira, SPG Deputy Chair and Professor of Politics, University of Leeds |
| Monitoring Diversity in Parliaments: Members, staff and stakeholders | 13:00-14:30 | A panel discussion exploring the benefits and challenges of monitoring diversity within parliaments, through a range of perspectives focusing on Members, staff and wider stakeholders. Chair: Professor Cristina Leston Bandeira, SPG Deputy Chair and Professor of Politics, University of Leeds (online) Zoe Backhouse, Head of Petitions Engagement, House of Commons (online) Helen Finlayson, Health and Social Care Committee, Senedd Cymru (online) Rebecca Lees, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, House of Commons (online) Margaret McKinnon, Women & Equalities Committee, House of Commons |
| Break | 14:30-14:45 | Opportunity to view posters and a chance to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Parliaments in Conflict: political legitimacy and parliamentary norms | 14:45-16:15 | Chair: Aileen Walker Lord Purvis of Tweed, House of Lords (online) Greg Power, Global Partners Governance (online) Dr Sarah Whitmore, Oxford Brookes University |
| Coffee/Refreshment Break | 16:15-16:45 | Opportunity to view posters and a chance to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Restoration & Renewal of the Palace of Westminster | 16:45-17:45 | The Panel will consider developments in the Restoration & Renewal Programme since the passage of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 Chair: Dr Hannah White OBE, Director of the Institute for Government Claire Maugham, former Communications Director, Restoration & Renewal Sponsor Body (online) Dr Alexandra Meakin, University of Leeds (online) Matthew Hamlyn CBE, Strategic Director, Chamber Business Team, House of Commons (online) |
| Break | 17:45-18:00 | Opportunity to view posters and a chance to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Wheeler-Booth Memorial Lecture | 18:00-19:00 | Kathryn Stone OBE, outgoing Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Chair: Professor the Lord Norton of Louth, Professor of Government, University of Hull |
| Buffet Dinner | 19:15 | |
| After-dinner Quiz | 20:45 | Join us for our conference quiz. Remote participants will be able to join the quiz on Zoom but online teams will have to make their own arrangements to communicate among themselves |
Saturday 7th January
| Session | Time | Panellists |
Annual General Meeting | 09:00-10:00 | SPG Executive Members |
Remembering Sir David Butler | 10:00-10:15 | |
| Coffee/Refreshment break | 10:15-10:45 | Opportunity to view posters exhibition and a chance to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Operation Marquee | 10:45-12:00 | Neil Baverstock, Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, House of Lords, in conversation with Dr Emmeline Ledgerwood, History of Parliament. |
| Lunch break | 12:00-12:45 | |
| Informal break-out meetings | 12:45-13:30 | Opportunity for members to organise their own meetings (and view posters) Contribution from Charles Feldman, Canadian Study of Parliament Group |
| The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly | 13:30-14:30 | The PPA brings together members of the UK Parliament and the European Parliament to exchange views on implementation and operation of the 2021 Trade and Co-operation Agreement. It held its first two meetings in 2022. The Panel will reflect on the early experience of the Assembly and possible future developments in EU–UK interparliamentary relations. Chair: Tom Healey, SPG Chair and Clerk of Bills, House of Commons Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald KC MP, Leader of the UK Delegation to the Assembly (online) Nathalie Loiseau MEP, Leader of the European Parliament Delegation to the Assembly (online) Dr Lynn Gardner, Head of the Interparliamentary Relations Office, House of Commons Adam Isaacs, Head of Europe Unit: Enlargement, Western Europe and Northern Cooperation, European Parliament |
| Coffee/Refreshment break | 14:30-14:45 | Opportunity to view posters exhibition and a chance to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Parliamentary scrutiny of inter-government relations | 14:45-16:15 | Chair: Gareth Williams, Welsh Parliament Professor Nicola McEwen, Centre on Constitutional Change, University of Edinburgh (online) Hedydd Phylip, Cardiff University Philip Rycroft, former Head of UK Governance Group, Cabinet Office (online) Jess Sargeant, Institute for Government The new report on interparliamentary relations, published by Sir Paul Silk and Paul Evans is available here. |