Armando Iannucci: Is it time to reform parliament's arcane rules and rituals? | Westminster Reimagined

The New Statesman Podcast

The legendary writer, satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows, Iannucci explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.

In this episode, Armando and Ailbhe Rea examine the place we make laws: parliament. Is it an old boys’ club, designed to exclude normal people from being able to make sense of it?

They are joined by special guests Anum Qaisar, the SNP’s newest Westminster MP, who won the Airdrie and Shotts by-election in 2021, and Emma Crewe, a professor of anthropology at SOAS who has studied the workings of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

They talk about how parliament can be hard to navigate, what’s prevented it from evolving into a modern, 21st-century legislature and why it’s still a tough place for MPs from non-traditional backgrounds.

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.

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