A NEW season of Insights public lectures starts next month in the region with Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, talking about modern democracy.

Mr Bercow will be at Newcastle University on Thursday, February 1, to talk about his work to improve public understanding of the role and function of the Speaker and the changes he has helped introduce to the House of Commons since he was elected to the role in 2009.

His talk takes place 100 years after the 1918 Representation of the People act was passed.

The Act led to significant changes in the electoral system by extending the right to vote to women aged over 30, an issue that had been the subject of much debate and campaigning for a number of years.

Public lectures take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5.30pm in the Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle University. For further details, visit www.ncl.ac.uk/events/public-lectures.