British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union

Who we are

BGIPU aims to serve Britain's and the UK Parliament's interests through advancing the parliamentary dimension of Britain's foreign relations.  Under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global body of the world's national parliaments comprising 178 members, BGIPU's  membership comprises all members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords who are deemed full members of BGIPU by virtue of their position in the UK Parliament.

BGIPU’s key parliamentary diplomacy effort is to promote and consolidate Britain’s interests abroad and engage Parliamentarians in key global issues. The BGIPU works to expand awareness and understanding of foreign relations and the contribution to be made by the UK Parliament to consolidate parliamentary democracy worldwide.

Through encouraging trade and sustainable economic development, supporting effective global peace and security mechanisms, defending universal human rights norms and respect for the rule of law, BGIPU seeks to advance the key role that parliaments can play in international affairs alongside its IPU counterparts.  This includes cooperation at a multilateral level through the IPU promoting parliamentary development and bolstering democratic norms and institutions. The BGIPU also seeks to ensure that there is greater parliamentary input to multilateral dialogue, in particular through the United Nations system.  BGIPU also manages a bilateral programme of exchanges with parliamnets from around the world.

The British Group is governed by an Executive Committee whose members are elected according to the Rules of the Group, at the Annual General Meeting. The Executive is supported in carrying out the programme of the Group by a full-time Secretariat.