April 12th 2021

We play it again Shirley in honour of your life.


April 23rd 2018

The case for staying in the EU #Brexit

The LD Peer Baroness Shirley Williams & the former Labour foreign office minister Denis McShane speak to Boni Sones Executive Producer of www.parliamentaryrayradio.com about #Brexit and the case for staying in the EU. Both were speakers at the recent @TutuFoundation #PeaceSummit2018 @regentsuni in London.

Shirely said: "I think we should be quite willing to say it is not working, and it is better for us to go ahead with the idea of a customs union and come back and think where we go in another sense. ..We accept that you have a single market and a customs union and we then agree to the European Court of Justice as the European Court for all of us that is when we can begin to start building a serious and constructive Europe. So far Europe has delivered no less than 50 years of peace, they have refused to be sucked into wars with one another. The EU has been successful in creating peace with its elder members. We need to think about what we have got rather than take it down and start all over again. ..I am living with the hard realities of life and realising they need changes and new ways of thinking. "

Denis said: "What kind of country do we want. Will people want to have the political leadership to help them think again in whatever form. My next book is called: "From here to BrexEternity", Brexit is going to be for eternity, there are MPs who are as yet unborn who will have to find a way of dealing with the consequences of Brexit unless we find a way of drawing a line under it now."

Thanks to Carole Stone CBE for organising the 3rd International Peace Summit.

In conversation with Boni Sones www.parliamentaryradio.com

We play it again: Baroness Shirley Williams

16th August 2021

Supporting women in Afghanistan Parliament


Elay Ershad has decided to stay in Afghanistan despite the fact that the country looms under the control of the Taliban.

As a woman, things are going to change a lot for her, even despite having held one of the highest positions in the administration: that of a deputy in parliament.
 
Elay Ershad joined us for this debate in 2018 In Westminster to celebrate the first #WomenOfTheWorld Debate. 


Over 100 women from over 80 countries and five continents took part in a very special debate in the House of Commons Chamber today. It was the first time women from all over the World had sat and spoken in the UK Parliament.

In this special 25 minute audio documentary Linda Fairbrother and Boni Sones speak to five delegates who spoke in this debate.

They are: Elay Ershad, Afghanistan; Elvira Surabaldieva, Kyrgyzstan; Khawla Ben Aicha, Tunisia; Senator Risa Hontiveros, Philippines; Oana Bîzgan, Romania.

Afghanistan, Kyrqyz Republic, Tunsia, Philippines, Romania

#WomenOfAfghanistan - Elay Ershad joins our debate

Celebrating #IWD 2022

20 years of women in the UK Parliament documentary

In March 2022 to celebrate International Women's Day Boni collated this documentary for students at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge to listen to women MPs across Party say what they achieved in their careers for other women: You can listen here:

You will hear from Margaret Sitta, Tanzania;Theresa May; Gillian Shephard; Barbara Follett; Joan Ruddock; Anne McGuire; Linda Clark; Rosemary McKenna; Sandra Osborne; Oona King;(2006) Fiona McTaggart; Joan Ruddock; Tessa Jowell; (2015) Bernard Jenkin, Caroline Spelman, Maria Miller, Lynn Featherstone (2016). Theresa May (2007). Eilidh Whiteford, and then the Zimbabwe parliamentarian

www.parliamentaryradio.com

#IWD2022 - #Women in Parliament 25 years on

IWD 2022 -  How Labour Women MPS occupied the smoking room

In this previously recorded documentary for www.parliamentaryradio.com we tell again how Hazel Blears and other Labour women MPs took over the previously male dominated smoking room in the House of Commons.


On 30 March 2015, when Parliament concludes, ten Labour women MPs will be "throwing in the towel". Together they have served a remarkable 200 years in Westminster. The list includes two former Secretaries of State, Tessa Jowell and Hazel Blears, and five former ministers or junior ministers; Anne McGuire, Meg Munn, Dawn Primarolo, Glenda Jackson and Joan Ruddock, as well as former parliamentary private secretary Sian James and committee chair Joan Walley. Their colleague Linda Riordan, another committee stalwart, is also now standing down.

Together they have put major new government laws on the statute book, on everything from equality to education, the environment and civil partnerships. Even the 2012 Olympics might not have come to London, but for the more than ten years that Tessa Jowell spent pushing for it.

To mark their achievements the History of Parliament Trust joined with Women's Parliamentary Radio to recorded 'Tribute' interviews with eight of them, which will be placed in the Trust's archives.
In Part One we talk to Dame Joan Ruddock, Tessa Jowell and Hazel Blears. They are interviewed by Jackie Ashley and Deborah Mcgurran.

Boni

#IWD2022 Hazel Blears How Labour women took over the smoking room

19th June 2023

We asked Glenda Jackson why she spoke out in the debate on Margaret Thatcher

Glenda Jackson the former Labour MP for  Hampstead and Kilburn on the 10th April 2013 delivered a broadside on the legacy of Margaret Thatcher when MPs in the Commons were paying tribute to her in Parliament days after Thatcher's death. Even Labour MPs were asked not to be critical of Thatcher, but Glenda Jackson defied her Party and spoke out. 

Glenda's "sharp elbows sharp knees" speech has become infamous. We managed to get an exclusive interview with her just after she delivered it! 

We play it again as legacy to her formidable campaigning political career.

It is written up in our second book on women MPs, and in our national  audio archives.

@copyright BoniSones. www.parliamentaryradio.com

Parliamentaryradio.com

Exclusive: Glenda Jackson on her Margaret Thatcher speech

May 22nd 2019

Vicky Ford the Conservative MP for Chelmsford tells journalist Jackie Ashley how she as Chair of the APPG on women assesses Theresa May's legacy for women. The Prime Ministers own MPs today escalated their plot to remove her as May finally seems unable to gather any new support for her new amended Withdrawal Agreement indeed she appears to be losing those supporters she once had.

www.parliamentaryradio.com May 22nd 2019

Vicky Ford MP tells Jackie Ashley of Theresa May's legacy for women

June 20th 

Sharon Hodgson the Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West regularly tweets about the many causes she personally champions and those she is fighting in her post as Shadow Health Minister. NICE and access to life saving drugs is one, and compensation for medical drug company failures of the past are another. She is also looking again at the plight of children with special educational needs, and fingers crossed Theresa May could even allocate much needed funding to this cause, as part of her "give away" legacy. Who knows? It's on Hodgson's wish list at least!

Hodgson also has the Nissan plant in her constituency  which voted 62 per cent in favour of Leave in the June 2016 Referendum but at the same time knows Brexit will lead and is leading already to a loss of some of those 7000 jobs and the many more that rely on the car industry supply chain.

Here Hodgson tells Boni Sones, Executive Producer of www.parliamentaryradio.com about these just causes she is championing and how she would support Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Leader if he changed cause to make Labour a Remain party. 

She also wants to see Labour to do more to fight Anti-Semitism.

Hodgson ends by speculating that Theresa May, the Prime Minister, could become a "sister" if she actually got IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary  Standards Authority, to act upon her colleague Stella Creasy's moving plea to give MPs additional administrative assistance when they take maternity leave.

www.parliamentaryradio.com June 19th 2019

Sharon Hodgson MP Shadow Health Minister Fighting just causes

Web link 

January 22nd 2020
The new Conservative women MPs

Baroness Sal Brinton on why the Lords needs reform
A new Parliament, a New Year, and constitutional reform is centre stage for Boris Johnson’s new majority government.  
We caught up with the LD peer Baroness Sal Briton, to discuss the “ping pong” Lords Amendments to the Withdrawal Bill, including on unaccompanied refugee children,  that all eventually got overturned in the Commons, the pressing need for reform of the House of Lords but not necessarily moving it to York, and disability and the House of Commons. 

Baroness Brinton, key quote: “Boris Johnson talked about a Commission to look at parts of our Constitution and the House of Lords is one. The time is right for the House of Lords to be reformed. But it shouldn’t be done in isolation, it shouldn’t be done in isolation from the size of the House of Commons, it shouldn’t be done in isolation from how we vote, because our voting systems means that a very large number of voters feel that their vote just doesn’t count. This is a perfect moment, with a stable government, to spend a bit of time to have a Commission that also talks to the public about what they want their democracy to do. As a LD I don’t mind the idea of the Lords being abolished, I think we should have an elected Senate, perhaps based on a regional basis. But that is not what Boris Johnson is talking about doing, he is talking about moving us to York. The Lords and the Commons often work together on difficult problems in APPGs. One of my areas is working with victims we always do it with MPs and Lords at the same time, we couldn’t do that if one House is two hours train journey away.  ”    

She also discussed how the media judged Jo Swinson, the former MP and leader of the LDs, the LD increase in the share of the vote in the December 2019 General Election, the need for a PR voting system, and  how as a disabled person public transport presents challenges and how she has been “completely dumped” at airports and trains! 
Sal says: “I have photographed more closed doors to send to facilities at the House of Commons, to be pinned back. I have been guiding the new architects and builders on what they need to think about for disabled people and that is a privileged. I would love a hemisphere chamber like the Scottish Parliament has. The straight lines in the Commons are really confrontational, there is a better way of doing politics.”

Baroness Sal Brinton on the need to Reform the House of Lords

22nd January 2020

www.parliamentaryradio.com introduce the new Conservative women MPs, Selaine Saxby MP North Devon, Suzanne Web MP Stourbridge, and Joy Morrissey MP Beaconsfield. They are interviewed by journalists Deborah McGurran and Boni Sones.

They discuss their campaigns and their election in December 2019 to the House of Commons, and the issues that they will be championing as new MPs. They talk about their Maiden Speeches, yet to come ,speaking in the Chamber, social media and abuse of MPs, what their first impressions are of the House, and why they want to become known as Boris Johnson's "Brexit Babes". 

They all acknowledge the help Baroness Jenkin's Women2Win campaign gave them and that of the campaign group 5050 Parliament. All are pleased to have got to Westminster through their own steam without needing All-women shortlists.

However, the Conservative party is now lagging behind Labour, the LDs, the SNP all of whom have achieved over 50 per cent representation by women in the House of Commons. The Conservatives, despite winning an 80 seat majority still only have 87 women MPs, up from 67. But it is the most female MPs the party has ever had. 

There are now 220 women in the Commons, more than a third for the first time.


Key quotes

Saxby: “We definitely think for ourselves and one of the things that W2W does is encourage women to come through so that the pool of women to take from is bigger.” 

Webb: “I’m here on merit and what the 5050 campaign does is let women know they can be here on their own merit. The Conservative women give you a very good grounding and get you to selection, and then W2W takes you on so there’s two bits of training. It’s definitely merit".

Morrissey: “Merit. And I’m happy to be a Boris Brexit babe. I have only beaten men. You know that you have won on your own merit on the democratic process. I wouldn’t want it to change.”

Introducing the new Conservative Women: Selaine Saxby MP Suzanne Webb MP Joy Morrissey MP

International Women’s Day 2021 Exclusive podcast  

 #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge

Caroline Noakes the Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North talks to www.parliamentaryradio.com about International Women’s Day 2021 and her work across party as Chair of the Equalities Select Committee. 

The Committee currently has eight ongoing enquiries, most of these are coronavirus related, and as we learn more about the disproportionate impact of coronavirus in society, Caroline says why she’s standing up for women in society and why she’ll be prodding government ministers to do more for women particularly around childcare and those working in retail and the beauty industry.

“The glaring omission when we went into the first lockdown this time last year was about women and childcare."

She goes on to discuss twitter abuse, Boris Johnson's "blokes government" and how women MPs are bullied out of Parliament. Even so she is determined to keep being "outspoken".

She would encourage other women to become an MP: “You’ll need a thick skin but being an MP was the best choice of career I could have made.”

End.

The Equalities Select Committee #UKParliament

Caroline Nokes MP #IWDay2021

Supporting public interest journalism on the web

@bonisones2

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