PSA ParliamentsEvent hosted by Parliamentary Outreach and Politics and History at the University of Huddersfield
In May 2015 millions of people around the country voted in a General Election. This autumn millions of votes will be cast from computers and phones around the UK for reality TV shows. Cinema goers will also see Suffragette, which tells a story of the women who demanded the right to vote.
Please note that this piece was originally published on the LSE Impact Blog on 19 October (available here), and has been re-published with permission from the Impact Blog and the author.
By Caroline Kenny
The impact case studies, submitted as part for the REF, tell an interesting story about how UK academia interacts with policy at a local, national and international level. Over 40 per cent of cases mentioned impact on policy as part of their narrative.
We are pleased to announce our planned panels for the Annual PSA Conference, to be held on 21-23 March 2016, in Brighton. At #psa16, we will have six panels, covering a range of parliamentary and legislative issues, as well as a lunch time event, covering research impact and its relationship to Parliament. Titles and authors are listed here, but may be subject to change. We will try to add further details as and when they become available.
Monday 2nd November, 1.15 – 6pm
Attlee Suite, Portcullis House
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), Parliamentary Outreach and Research Councils UK (RCUK) would like to invite you to an interactive event showcasing the ways that research has informed parliamentary processes.
By Mark Shephard
Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) attracts a high level of interest because it is the one procedure where the Prime Minister is expected to face questioning in the House of Commons by parliamentarians each week that parliament is sitting. However, it is often derided as an ineffective procedure. For example, in a 2015 radio interview Nick Clegg called it a ‘farce’ that should be ‘scrapped’ and research by the Hansard Society has revealed that large proportions of the public do not like the pantomime point-scoring of PMQs which is perceived to undermine the capacity for effective scrutiny and influence of the government. Even the current PM and the current leader of the largest opposition party don’t like the way it operates. When David Cameron became leader of the Conservative Party in 2005 he called for an end to point-scoring ‘Punch and Judy’ politics. When Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party in 2015 he also wanted less theatre and called for more fact during the procedure.
By Gary Levy
The last four Parliaments, three minority and one majority, have convinced most Canadian parliamentary scholars that much damage has been done to the constitution. [1] One would think the 2015 election would be a time for parties to put forth ideas to improve what we still refer to as our Westminster model. So far this has not been the case and one wonders if there will be improvement, as opposed to change, after Canadians cast their ballots on October 19. This post look specifically at how issues of electoral reform, House of Commons reform and Senate reform have been treated in the campaign.
Please note that this piece was originally published on the Revolts blog (available here) and has been re-published with permission from the author.
By Philip Cowley
It now looks very likely that the Labour Party will give free votes to its MPs in the upcoming Commons votes on Trident renewal and possible air strikes in Syria.
The party is split on both issues, and in particular its new leadership is at odds with large numbers of MPs. Free votes are often granted when there are divisions like this within parties; splits are never as newsworthy when they take place on free votes. So the tactical reasons for having free votes are pretty obvious.