House of Cards Episode 2

"Episode 2" is the second episode of the first miniseries of House of Cards, and the second episode overall.

Plot

Francis Urquhart continues his surreptitious campaign to force Prime Minister Henry Collingridge's resignation. After the tabloids spend the summer excoriating the PM's brother Charles, it's time for the fall party conference in Brighton. There, Urquhart ensures that journalist Mattie Storin gets the results of an internal party poll showing they have fallen 30 points behind Labour. He also ensures those numbers make it to print. When the PM asks Urqhart's advice on who is out to get him, he lays the blame at the feet of Party chairman Lord Billsborough. Urquhart also approaches Foreign Minister Patrick Woolton with the suggestion that he run for the leadership while simultaneously plotting his downfall. When the financial scandal concerning the PM's brother Charles finally hits the press, Collingridge's tenure comes to an end.