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SPG Annual Weekend Homepage
How to make the most of the conference virtually
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 5th January
| Session | Time | Description |
| Welcome | 12:45-13:00 | Tom Healey, SPG Chair and Principal Clerk of the Table Office, House of Commons Professor Emma Crewe, SPG Deputy Chair and Professor of Social Anthropology, SOAS |
| Electoral administration and observation: challenges for the next general election | 13:00-14:30 | John Ault, Director of Democracy Volunteers Professor Alistair Clark, Newcastle University Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Assistant Commissioner, Boundary Commission for Wales Peter Stanyon, Chief Executive, Association of Electoral Administrators Chair: Rachael Farrington, Founder, Voting Counts |
| Break | 14:30-14:45 | Opportunity to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Panel to be confirmed | 14:45-16:15 | TBC |
| Coffee/Refreshment Break | 16:15-16:45 | Opportunity to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| What’s wrong with Parliament and how to fix it | 16:45-17:45 | Sir Chris Bryant MP, author of Code of Conduct: Why We Need to Fix Parliament – and How to Do it. Ian Dunt, author of How Westminster Works … and Why it Doesn’t Dr Hannah White, Institute for Government, author of Held in Contempt: What’s Wrong with the House of Commons |
| Break | 17:45-18:00 | Opportunity 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 | Lord Hayward OBE ‘A journey from childhood facination with boundaries to changing the law’ Chair: Professor the Lord Norton of Louth, Professor of Government, University of Hull |
| Buffet Dinner | 19:15 | |
| After-dinner Quiz (Fitzhugh Auditorium) | 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 6th January
| Session | Time | Panellists |
Annual General Meeting | 09:00-10:00 | SPG Executive Members |
| Coffee/Refreshment break | 10:00-10:30 | Opportunity to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| The Privileges Committee inquiry into the conduct of Boris Johnson | 10:30-12:00 | The panel will discuss the Privileges Committee inquiry into the conduct of Boris Johnson, the challenges faced during the inquiry, and its aftermath and wider implications. Dr Robin James, Clerk of the Commitee of Privileges Rt Hon Sir Ernest Ryder, independent Legal Adviser to the Committee of Privileges Saira Salimi, Speaker’s Counsel Eve Samson, Clerk of the Journals, House of Commons |
| Lunch break | 12:00-12:45 | |
| Informal break-out meetings | 12:45-13:30 | Opportunity for members to organise their own meetings |
| Ethnographies of parliaments and legislatures | 13:30-14:30 | A team of ethnographers have been researching relationships within parliaments/legislatures/councils in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the UK and the US since 2020 (funded by the European Research Council). The panel will talk about representation, engagement and ruptures between politicians and people in society at different levels of the state. Chair: Professor Sarah Childs, University of Edinburgh Dr Richard Axelby, SOAS University of London (on Sheffield City Council) Professor Emma Crewe, SOAS University of London (on the Texas House of Representatives) Professor Cristiane Bernardes, Brazilian Chamber of Deputies (on the National Congress of Brazil) |
| Coffee/Refreshment break | 14:30-14:45 | Opportunity to catch up with group members. Or take some time away from the screen if you are joining us virtually. |
| Looking back, looking forward: 25 years of devolution | 14:45-16:15 | The panel will reflect on 25 years of devolution in the UK and look forward as to how this policy may evolve over the coming decades. We will look at both devolution to the nations of the UK and the progress of devolution in England. Chairs: Angela Kelly, Northern Ireland Assembly, and Stephen Imrie, Scottish Parliament Dr Gareth McGrath, Director of Parliamentary Services, Northern Ireland Assembly Professor Nicola McEwen, University of Glasgow Akash Paun, Institute for Government Participant from Senedd Cymru tbc |