Name: Inside the Commons
Released: 2015-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: Michael Cockerell, Jacob Rees-Mogg, David Cameron

Inside the Commons

TV Show · Documentary

The highly acclaimed BBC series was filmed with unprecedented access to the House of Commons. Travelling deep inside the corridors of the Palace of Westminster this series reveals what really went on behind the scenes during a remarkable year in politics, in the run up to one of the most unpredictable general elections ever.

2015 · 58m

Starring Michael Cockerell, Jacob Rees-Mogg, David Cameron

Director Sam Benstead

EPISODE 1

Lifting the Lid

Cockerell talks to two relatively new female MPs, Charlotte Leslie and Sarah Champion, learning the ways of the House; he takes a look behind the scenes on budget day and he meets a maintenance team abseiling down the face of Big Ben.

58 min
EPISODE 2

Upstairs, Downstairs

We see what goes on backstage at the state opening, when the Queen comes to open the parliamentary year, including a surreal traditional search for gunpowder. Also, we meet the army of workers who struggle to keep the Commons show on the road.

58 min
EPISODE 3

Party Games

We see how the traditional three-party system appears to be falling apart at the seams. Backbench MPs are becoming increasingly rebellious as they confront the dark arts of the Whips - the shadowy figures who seek to impose party discipline.

58 min
EPISODE 4

Reinventing the House

Battles break out over the future of the House. The controversial speaker John Bercow runs into trouble with his own plans for reforming it, and wealthy Tory backbencher Zac Goldsmith tries to give voters the power to sack their MPs.

58 min