Talks Collection: UK Parliament.

Politics Something a bit different this week, in this election week, which will shortly be over, thank goodness. In the midst of all the backbiting and shouting about who will form the next government, not much has been said about the institution of the parliament itself, which as anyone who saw Michael Cockerell's superb Inside the Commons series will know is just as much about a building as the people who work there.

The UK Parliament.  

Launched about six years ago, this YouTube channel collectively features short documentaries from the BBC and elsewhere about the chamber and how it works (many of which has seen service recently as filler between campaign events on the BBC Parliament channel) as well as snatches of the official tour, lectures from events inside and outside the building and key parliamentary sessions.

House of Lords.

The upper chamber has its own channel for some reason with plenty of much shorter interview snatches covering anecdotes about the place as well as explanations of their business.

TEDx Houses of Parliament

For the past three years, the House has hosted its own event with speakers including MPs, journalists and academics.  My initial plan for this post was to recreate the 2014 event here, but all of the events have been recreated on various pages linked here.  Last year began with an address from Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hansard Society.

"The Hansard Society believes that the health of representative democracy rests on the foundation of a strong Parliament and an informed and engaged citizenry. A charity, founded in 1944 and working in the UK and around the world, we are an independent, non-partisan political research and education Society devoted to promoting democracy and strengthening parliaments."

Historic Royal Palaces

For ceremonial purposes, Westminster retains a status as a "royal palace" and features on the fringes of their channel, though I also think that if we're talking about the history of UK government, you can't really overlook the importance of its predecessors, especially Hampton Court.