Codes of Conduct

The Ministerial Code sets out the proper conduct for government ministers and is updated regularly. It sets out the behaviour expected within government, within departments and ministerial travel, as well as constituency, party and private interests.

MPs must also follow a code of conduct, as do Peers. Financial interests must be submitted to the Register of Members’ Interests or the Register of Lords’ Interests. These registers list financial interests of MPs and Peers which may have been considered to influence their activities or words in Parliament. These are overseen by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which provides lists of any Members of Parliament who are currently the subject of an inquiry, allegations which have been rectified and allegations which have not been upheld.

Confidence Motions

Parliament’s historic Hansard, a record of parliamentary debates from 1803 – 2005, records the three occasions since 1900 on which the government has suffered a defeat on a confidence motion. Read for example the debate on the Callaghan government in March 1979.

Urgent Questions

Read the urgent question on Iran or watch Mark Hendrick’s urgent question on job losses at BAE systems, both in October 2017. You can find a list of the deadlines for the submission of urgent questions here.

The Liaison Committee

The Liaison Committee’s webpage lists recent evidence sessions held with the Prime Minister.  Watch the Committee quiz David Cameron on migration and foreign affairs in May 2014 or Theresa May’s appearance before the committee in December 2017 where she answered questions on Brexit negotiations.