Mandelson, Andrew and Epstein: Should there be parliamentary committee of inquiry?

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of a recent by-election and the need for a parliamentary inquiry into controversies involving key political figures.

After the Greens’ triumph at the Gorton and Denton by-election we ponder the implications for Parliament. Could the result tempt more MPs to switch parties? Does this heap fresh pressure on the Prime Minister? Will party leaders need to rethink how they treat opponents whose backing they may need after the next election? And with the three largest parties in Parliament securing less than 30% per cent of the vote in the by-election between them, could it spark a move to introduce electoral reform? As the controversy surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor rolls on, Conservative MP and former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat joins the podcast. He makes the case for a new parliamentary “super-committee” to investigate what went wrong, from the former Prince’s appointment as a trade envoy to Mandelson’s move to Washington,  and to consider how better to protect the constitutional monarchy from future embarrassment. Plus, Ruth and Mark can’t resist dissecting the extraordinary chain of events that saw Mr Speaker Hoyle and his Lords counterpart, Lord Forsyth, unexpectedly caught up in the arrest of Lord Mandelson. And with the Chancellor’s Spring Statement due in…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ruth, Mark

Guest: Tom Tugendhat

Topics covered

• parliamentary inquiry
• by-election implications
• party switching
• electoral reform
• constitutional monarchy
• government spending
• political accountability

Keywords

• by-election
• parliamentary committee
• electoral reform
• Tom Tugendhat
• Peter Mandelson
• Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
• government spending
• political parties
• constitutional monarchy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Greens, Conservative Party, Parliament, Hansard Society

More episodes of Parliament Matters

• Brexit, 10 years on: Parliament and the democratic crisis · June 11, 2026 · 52 min
• The Cabinet Manual: Why Britain's constitutional "highway code" needs updating · June 4, 2026 · 1h 4m
• The £5m question: Who funds our politicians? · May 28, 2026 · 22 min
• Is the Government censoring the Mandelson Papers? · May 21, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Labour’s leadership tangle: What does it mean for Parliament? · May 15, 2026 · 1h 14m
• What now? The local election fallout hits Westminster · May 9, 2026 · 42 min