John Wilkes is an example of a hero journalist, he was forced into exile, he was the Mayor of London and an MP and he was elected from prison on three occasions. His private life was also notorious as he had numerous mistresses, partook in duels and was buried in debt. His publication “The North Briton” was anonymous and on one occasion he attacked (verbally) Lord Brute MP and King George the third, causing contempt of parliament. Wilkes established Statutory Qualified Privilege for reporting on parliament.
Westminster: The rules of privilege mean that you can report on virtually anything said in the House, however you must not forget the sub-judice rules such as contempt of court and you must avoid the taboo of mentioning the royals. Voting in the House of Commons is formally called a division. The parties will try and control the ways in which their MPs vote through whipping (they get the tough guys to persuade them) unless it is a matter of the conscience, for example abortion.
All new laws have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament, except for tax raising measures which are for the MPs alone to decide. Peers in the House of Lords are not elected and therefore do not represent constituencies, they are also not paid but they are allowed to claim expenses. Peers are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation or finance and they will never have the final word but they government may sometimes choose to compromise.
Hansard is the official report on the proceedings of
parliament and is published daily.
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