Lord Speaker's Corner

Lord Harris of Peckham joins the Lord Speaker to discuss his life in business, education and sport, from his childhood in post-war Peckham to building a major retail business and helping establish the Harris academies.

In this episode

‘They should pay our taxes’

Lord Harris of Peckham left school at 15 before building a business empire shop by shop. In this episode, he explains to the Lord Speaker why the ultra-wealthy who made their fortune in Britain should not abandon the country in search of lower taxes, explaining they have a moral duty to the place that made them.

‘People have got to be with you.’

Lord Harris also reflects on growing up in post-war Peckham, the lessons he learned building a retail empire and why he believes people are at the heart of good leadership. He discusses his work transforming schools and founding the Harris Federation, and what he thinks Britain needs to do to revive its high streets.

‘I talk to them all individually, every single player’

Finally, he takes us inside Arsenal, revealing how he talks to the players about motivation and why the idea of family has shaped his approach to business, schools and football alike.

See more from the series, plus read a transcript https://www.parliament.uk/corner
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From the House of Lords to Whitehall, Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield has spent decades studying the people and institutions that shape Britain.

'The British constitution belongs to all of us’

As he steps away from the House of Lords, the leading historian and former Crossbench Peer shares his thoughts on the constitution, the civil service, Parliament, Nato, leadership, and the values that hold a democracy together. He also warns that Britain’s unwritten constitution is vulnerable to political hijack by a government exploiting its conventions.

‘It's an absorbing succession of shock waves’

In this deeply personal interview, he also reflects on living with Parkinson's disease, discussing the constitution with the Queen, serving in the House of Lords, and the institutions he believes are worth protecting. An essential listen for anyone interested in how Britain is governed.
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Prisons Minister James Timpson, Lord Timpson, speaks to Lord Forysth of Drumlean about fostering, business leadership and prison reform in the latest episode of Lord Speaker’s Corner.


In this episode

‘We all had a responsibility to help these other people.’

Lord Timpson reflects on a life shaped by an unconventional childhood, where his mother fostered almost 100 children over the years. He shares that ‘we were the youngest kids at school to know all the swear words’ but that his mother’s passion for challenging the system inspired his drive to make change happen.

‘The bigger percentage of the workforce at Timpson that were ex-offenders correlates to the increased profit performance of the business.’

Lord Timpson was the CEO of the Timpson Group for 22 years where he pioneered employing ex-prisoners, a practice now used by companies including Greggs, Tesco and Amazon. Drawing on his experience, he explains why employing ex-offenders can deliver both social impact and commercial success, plus why rehabilitation must sit at the heart of the justice system. He also reveals the challenges of the change from commercial CEO to government, and what he has taken from business into his work with civil servants.

‘Too many people leave prison and go back again.’

Lord Timpson also reflects on the complex current issues in the prison system, from reoffending to mental health and drug addiction, arguing for an approach rooted in rehabilitation as well as fewer women in prison. He also questions the high turnover of prisons ministers, with 25 postholders since 1990.

See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/
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Lord Speaker’s Corner returns as the Iranian-born Bishop of Chelmsford shares the extraordinary family story behind a pillowcase pierced by four bullets aimed at her father.

In the first episode of a new series, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean speaks to the Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani about survival, faith, and what her experience reveals about Iran today.
In this episode
“My mother was shot. (She) threw herself over him in an effort to protect him”
Bishop Francis-Dehqani recalls how, during the 1979 Iranian revolution, gunmen climbed into her family home and opened fire on her parents as they slept. After her brother was later killed in an ambush believed to target her father, the family fled to the UK, carrying with them a pillowcase that came to symbolise survival, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
“I absolutely believe this regime is in its death throes, but death throes can last for quite a long time… democracy, the kind of freedom we might imagine, it's not born overnight. A nation has to learn to be a democracy, and Iran is far from that.”

Bishop Francis-Dehqani also reflects on the current conflict in Iran, explaining that power works more like a spider’s web than a pyramid. On the US/Israel attack, she says: “I had quite a strong sense that this is not how things are going to change in Iran… I don't know where this ends. It is horrific, but my sense is that President Trump unleashed something without fully understanding the consequences, imagining that it was going to be a quick fix. Underestimating actually the Iranian regime and the Iranian people.” Bishop Francis-Dehqani warns that ordinary Iranians are now caught between a vicious repression and fear of more bombing and need a credible resistance around which they can unite.
Listen now to hear more of the Bishop of Chelmsford’s remarkable first-hand story and unique perspective on what is happening in Iran today.

See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/
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The tables are turned as outgoing Lord Speaker Lord McFall of Alcluith is the guest on his own podcast.

As Lord McFall of Alcluith prepares to step down after nearly five years as Lord Speaker, he speaks to fellow Scottish peer and broadcaster Baroness (Ayesha) Hazarika.

This episode looks back at Lord McFall’s extraordinary personal journey into politics, and his nearly 40 years at Westminster as an MP, minister and peer, culminating in his election as the fourth Lord Speaker.

Lord McFall shares his views on populism in politics, as well as on the crucial role of the House of Lords in enhancing legislation through scrutiny and debate and holding government to account.

Lord McFall says it is strange to be on the other side of the microphone as he reflects on a childhood shaped by his working-class upbringing in Dumbarton, leaving school at 15 with no formal qualifications, and a family that valued community over status.

“It was pretty negative when I was 15 or 16, not knowing where I was going and as you rightly say, the first job was in the parks department, weeding,” he tells Baroness Hazarika. “I never thought I would become an MP.”

He recalls, as chairman of the powerful Commons Treasury Select Committee for nine years, calling financiers to account for the global banking and financial crisis of 2008; as a new Northern Ireland Minister just two days into the role, experiencing at first-hand the impact of the Omagh bomb atrocity which killed 29 people and unborn twins; and his firm belief that the House of Lords serves and assists democracy and is critical to making “good law”.

Listen now to find out more.

See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/
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