Sir Chris Bryant: Why We Need to Fix Parliament

Please note, this event is now taking place in St Swithin's Church on the Paragon.

From leading MP Chris Bryant, a short and rousing guide to one of the biggest issues in politics today: politicians knowingly breaking the rules and expecting to get away with it.

Chris is an acclaimed historian of Parliament and expert on parliamentary procedure. Having been MP for the Rhondda since 2001, he has since 2020 chaired the Committees on Standards and Privileges, which have guardianship of the Code of Conduct and adjudicate on individual cases. He won the Spectator speech of the year award in 2021 for his calm exposition of the case against Owen Paterson and has drafted the new House of Commons Code of Conduct. His most recent book, The Glamour Boys, won the 2020 Parliamentary Book Award.

The extraordinary turmoil we have seen in British politics in the last few years has set records.

We have had the fastest turnover of ministers in our history and more MPs suspended from the House than ever. Rules have been flouted repeatedly, sometimes in plain sight. The government seems unable to escape the brush of sleaze. And just when we think it's all going to calm down a bit, another scandal breaks.

As Chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges, Chris Bryant has had a front-row seat for the battle over standards in parliament. Cronyism, nepotism, conflicts of interest, misconduct and lying: politicians are engaging in these activities more frequently and more publicly than ever before. The result? The work of honest and accountable MPs is tarnished. Public trust is worn thin. And when nearly two thirds of voters think that MPs are out for themselves, democracy is in trouble.

It is time for a better brand of politics. Taking us inside the Pugin-carpeted corridors of Westminster, from the prime minister's office to the Strangers' Bar, Code of Conduct examines every angle of parliamentary conduct and suggests how parliament might - at last - get its house in order.

"From leading MP Chris Bryant, the inside story of misconduct in parliament - and how we can help solve it. 'Nobody knows how parliament works - and how it doesn't - better than Chris" JAMES O'BRIEN

"Absolutely riveting. I read, I blink, I gasp" REVEREND RICHARD COLES

"Vital. It should serve as a wake-up call to all of us" ALASTAIR CAMPBELL