House of Lords Podcast: Lord Speaker's Corner

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.

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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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Michael Gove, Lord Gove, is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner as he discusses the fragmentation of British politics, breaking up the Treasury, Brexit and The Celebrity Traitors.

Lord Gove speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about why two-party politics no longer works, suggesting “We have to ask ourselves ‘why has this happened?’, and not ‘how can we put Humpty Dumpty back together again?’”.

He also suggests breaking up the Treasury, proposing “The argument … has a great deal of merit. You'd have spending control in the Cabinet Office … and an Economics Ministry dedicated to making sure government policy was oriented towards growth, innovation.”

In this wide-ranging interview, Lord Gove also discusses fallings out with Conservative Prime Ministers, the benefits of Brexit, why he doesn’t believe in referendums and that fewer people should be going to prison.

Finally, on whether he would accept a role in a political version of The Celebrity Traitors, he tells Lord McFall that “I’d like Claudia Winkleman’s role”.

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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Defence, security, Russia and China are on the agenda in the latest Lord Speaker’s Corner. Former Nato Secretary General, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, and former First Sea Lord, Lord West of Spithead, speak to Lord McFall of Alcluith.

In this episode, Lord Robertson, who was also Defence Secretary from 1997 to 1999, warns that the UK is “under-prepared and under attack”. He also discusses Russian-organised sabotage in Europe, explaining “They can’t do it themselves. So they are now contracting out, a good capitalist principle, to organised crime. Our undersea cables, which carry 99% of all the data we use, are vulnerable and they're watching them and, in some cases, attacking them.”

Lord West, the UK’s first Security Minister from 2007 to 2010, reflects on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying “It’s quite difficult to see how one’s going to get out of this [conflict] because one doesn’t want a full war between Nato and Russia. They [Russia] would lose it. And the danger with them losing it is – would they then make that stupid mistake of going nuclear?”

Both also share their thoughts and experience of dealing with China. Lord West discusses his experience commanding a battle group as he dealt with a challenging Chinese navy during the handover of Hong Kong: “out at sea it was very different from the pictures coming from Hong Kong. The Chinese Navy were trying to ram our ships. They were opening missile doors.”

Lord Robertson suggests a careful approach, saying “We've got to engage with China, but recognise that it is going to be the future challenge - militarily, commercially and diplomatically - and therefore be very, very cautious about what we do... I think it's probably better to call the Chinese a problem rather than a threat at the present moment.”

Lord West also discusses his experience in the nuclear chain of command on 9/11, sharing “I remember getting a phone call from our nuclear firing cell, the guys who finally - when all the codes go - press the buttons, and they said, unbelievably, on my red phone [linking to the UK deterrent]: ‘Sir... the Americans are starting to move to immediate readiness for nuclear weapon release in all three systems.’ That’s strategic air, intercontinental ballistic missiles and subsurface ...’What do you want me to do?’”

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


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