Lord Speaker's Events
As Lord Speaker, Lord McFall represents the House of Lords at many national and international events. He also welcomes high-level guests on visits to the UK Parliament and takes part in discussions with fellow Speakers from legislatures around the world.
Here are some of the events which Lord McFall has taken part in since being elected Lord Speaker in 2021:
2024 events
April
- 24 April Lord McFall talks to City University students.
- 22-23 April Lord McFall attends the EU Speaker's Conference.
March
- 26 March Lord McFall delivers a keynote speech to the Institute for Government.
- 20 March Lord McFall speaks to students from the University of the West of Scotland.
- 20 March Meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Kim Jinpyo and delegation.
- 19 March Lord Speaker’s Lecture with US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy in conversation with Baroness Kidron.
- 12 March Meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh, Dr Shirin Choudhury MP.
- 11 March Lord McFall speaks to students from Hull University.
- 11 March Lord McFall addresses the 72nd Commonwealth Westminster Seminar.
- 7 March Meeting with Jordanian Senate President, Faisal Al Fayez and delegation.
- 5 March Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, in conversation with Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws.
February
- 29 February Visit to Manchester Town Hall and speech to the University of Manchester.
- 29 February Lord McFall welcomes members of the Interparliamentary Forum to Westminster for its fifth meeting.
- 28 February Meeting with the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, Dr Andreas Norlén and delegation.
- 22 February Meeting with the New South Wales President of the Legislative Council, Ben Franklin.
- 19 February Meeting with the Speaker of the Canadian Senate, Ms Raymonde Gagné and delegation.
- 5 February Meeting with the Vice President of the German Bundesrat, Anke Rehlinger.
- 1 February Meeting with the President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta
January
- 30 January Lord McFall addresses the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme.
- 25 January Visit by the President of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
- 22 January Attends a panel discussion to mark Holocaust Memorial Day with former Kindertransport refugee Lord Dubs, Rwandan genocide survivor Antoinette Mutabazi, Baroness Helić and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust chief executive Olivia Marks-Woldman.
- 9 January Visit to Berlin, including meetings with the President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas and the President of the Bundesrat Manuela Schwesig.
2023 events
December
- 19 December Attends funeral of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Darling of Roulanish.
- 5 December Lord McFall addresses the 4th meeting of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly at Westminster
November
- 28 November Visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in London
- 21 November Offers vote of thanks to the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, following his address to both Houses of Parliament
- 20 November Speech to the London School of Economics
- 8 November Hosts Lord Speaker's Lecture with former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
- 7 November State Opening of Parliament by His Majesty King Charles III. Lord McFall hosts the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, Senator Jerry Buttimer, as he becomes the first Speaker of the Irish Parliament to attend the Speech from the Throne
October
- 18 October Visit by the President of the Senate of the Philippines Juan Miguel Zubiri
- 17 October Lord Speaker attends Lord Mayor's dinner at the Mansion House
September
- 28-29 September Lord Speaker attends the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Dublin
- 20 September Lord Speaker addresses the RSA on the topic The Future of the House of Lords
- 13 September Visit of the Speaker of the Jordanian House of Representatives Ahmad al-Safadi
- 12 September Attends ceremony in the House of Lords to mark the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan
July
- 24 July Attends inaugural Speakers of the Isles Conference in Co Kildare, Republic of Ireland
- 12 July Visit of the President of the Portuguese National Assembly Augusto Santos Silva at the head of a delegation of parliamentarians
- 5 July Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Alastair Campbell and Sir Charles Walker
- 5 July Visit of President of Belgian Senate Stephanie d’Hose
June
- 26 June Visit of Canadian delegation led by Minister of Public Services and Procurement Helena Jaczek
- 22 June Meets delegation of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, led by First Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Korniyenko, at British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union event in Parliament
- 8 June Visit of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan
May
- 6 May Attends Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey
- 2 May Welcomes King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on Their Majesties' visit to Westminster Hall to meet parliamentarians
April
- 24-25 April Attends as observer the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Prague
- 19 April Visit of the First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan Sodiq Safoyev
March
- 29 March Attends funeral of former Speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Boothroyd
- 27 March Visit of chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk
- 15 March Visit of delegation from the Parliament of the Bangsamoro region of the Philippines
- 13 March Attends Commonwealth Day Service at Westminister Abbey
- 8 March Lord Speaker’s Lecture by Professor Sharon Peacock
- 6 March Addresses Kick it Out anti-racism reception with representatives of Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund football clubs, ahead of service to commemorate 80th anniversary of the murder of Jewish-German footballer Julius Hirsch in the Holocaust
- 1 March Visit of Rais Natim, Speaker of the Upper House of the Malaysian Parliament, the Dewan Negara
February
- 23 February Visit of Bärbel Bas, president of the German Bundestag (Federal Parliament)
- 8 February Delivers message of thanks following an address to both Houses of Parliament by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
- 1 February Visit to Elizabeth Tower ahead of its reopening to visitors following extensive renovation
January
- 10 January Visit of the Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
2022 events
December
- 14 December Welcomes King Charles III to Parliament for a visit of thanksgiving and remembrance in honour of Queen Elizabeth II
- 7 December Speech to the Hansard Society
- 5 December Lord Speaker’s Lecture by Prof Mariana Mazzucato
November
- 29 November Responds to address to both Houses of Parliament by Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska
- 29 November Visit of the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Matti Vanhanen
- 22 November Welcomes South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Parliament during his State Visit to the UK
- 7 November Visit of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons Anthony Rota
October
- 18 October Lord Speaker’s Lecture by Prof Stuart Russell
- 5 October Visit to Dublin and made a speech to the Irish Senate
September
- 19 September Attends Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
- 12 September Address to King Charles III on behalf of the House of Lords on the occasion of the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II
August
- 26-28 August Visit to the Vatican
July
- 12 July Visit of Azerbaijani delegation led by Speaker of the National Assembly Sahiba Gafarova
June
- 30 June Visit of Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann (Speaker of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament)
- 29 June Visit of Speaker of Vietnamese Parliament Vuong Dinh Hue
- 15 June Attends service to mark 40th anniversary of Falklands War
- 6 June Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Jonathan Powell and Lord Jay of Ewelme
- 3 June Attends National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
May
- 31 May Visit to Scottish Parliament in Holyrood
- 24 May Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Lord Reed of Allermuir
- 24 May Visit of President of Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka
- 24 May Visit of President of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou
- 11 May Visit of President of Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies Fernand Etgen
April
- 26 April Visit of Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila
- 20 April Visit of Speaker of Canadian Senate George Furey
March
- 29-30 March Visit to Welsh Senedd in Cardiff
- 29 March Attends Thanksgiving Service in Westminster Abbey for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh
- 24 March Visit of President of Swiss Council of States Thomas Hefti
- 16 March Visit of Speaker of Zambian National Assembly Nelly Mutti
- 9 March Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Baroness Grey-Thompson
February
- 25 February Launch of the Interparliamentary Forum
- 9 February Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Lord Robertson and Tom Tugendhat
- 9 February Visit of Speaker of Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili
2021 events
December
- 1 December Visit of President of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, Rik Daems
November
- 24 November Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Professor Graham Walker and Dr David Torrance
- 23 November Attends funeral of Sir David Amess MP
- 18 November Visit of President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil
October
- 26 October Lord Speaker’s Lecture with Baroness Hale
- 22 October Visit of Speaker of Irish Senate Mark Daly
- 13 October Visit by President of the Austrian Federal Council Peter Raggl
September
- 29-30 September Visit to Northern Ireland
- 16 September Visit by President of the Kurdistan region of Iraq Nechervan Barzani
- 15 September Visit of the Llywydd of the Welsh Parliament Elin Jones
May
- 1 May Lord McFall takes office as Lord Speaker
