Our 2024 annual conference kicked off on Thursday, 21 November in Cardiff University’s sbarc|spark building, a state-of-the-art facility that provided an inspiring backdrop for our early-career workshop. Our gratitude to WISERD for hosting us. Jack Liddall (University of Cambridge / University of Edinburgh) presented a paper on parliamentary oversight of intergovernmental relations in the UK. Lauren Martin (University of Sheffield) shared her research on the interactions between citizens and the UK Parliament during e-petitioning campaigns. Both papers offered novel insights based on primary interview data and document analysis. We are extremely grateful to the discussants, Jo Hunt (Cardiff University), Larissa Peixoto Vale Gomes (University of Edinburgh), Stephen Holden Bates (University of Birmingham) and Richard Whitaker (University of Leicester), who devoted time to providing thoughtful and encouraging feedback.
Our Co-convenor Diana Stirbu welcomed many of our conference participants at the evening drinks reception, where old acquaintances were reconnected and new ones made. We were in for a treat, as our guest speaker the Deputy Presiding Officer David Rees MS delivered an engaging keynote address on the evolution of the Senedd with first-hand insights into the decision-making processes that led to the reforms for the 2026 elections. He encouraged us to examine the developments in the Senedd closely and feed into future discussions, reminding us that a full review is due to be conducted after the elections. After the drinks reception, we headed to the other side of Cardiff Bay to the Duchess of Delhi for an informal dinner, providing an opportunity for further catching up over delicious Indian food.
On Friday, 22 November, the setting of the Senedd’s Pierhead Building was more than fitting for our first panel of the conference which explored ‘25 years of devolved parliaments and current developments in the UK Parliament’. The panel, which was moderated by Jack Liddall, our Communications Officer, gave us a tour around the UK’s legislatures as panellists presented on a wide variety of issues facing parliaments and parliamentarians. Josh Hayman presented research which he has worked on alongside Sara Moran (both from Senedd Research). Their work on ‘25 years of Welsh law-making’ has also been collated into a comprehensive report. This report was available in hard copy for our members at the conference at the stall set up by the Study of Parliament Group Wales. Richard Whitaker (University of Leicester) spoke to his recent research on skeleton bills in the Scottish Parliament, UK Parliament and Senedd (and also touched on the legislative process in Northern Ireland). Ekaterina Kolpinskaya (University of Exeter) then rounded off our panel with a discussion on disability inclusion practices in the House of Commons (on behalf of herself and Mike Winter from PACAC). We are delighted that Ekaterina’s work, which is available here, also features in our latest PSA Parliaments blog.
Following a delicious platter of Welsh cakes and other assorted pastries we kicked off with our second panel of the day, ‘Parliamentary procedures and reform’ (chaired by our Treasurer and Membership Officer Lauren Martin), which saw us transported back to Westminster (not actually). Louise Thompson (University of Manchester) and Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds) presented their pilot research on Westminster Hall as an alternative to the House of Commons Chamber. Ruxandra Serban (University College London) then presented co-authored research with Meg Russell (UCL Constitution Unit) about Urgent Questions in the UK House of Commons between 1992 and 2024. We finished up by hearing from Tom Fleming who presented research conducted with Hannah Kelly (both of UCL Constitution Unit) on the extent to which the House of Commons has enough control over its own procedures.
The first two panels gave us plenty to discuss during the lunch break. We enjoyed a lovely buffet, which was kindly sponsored by the Senedd Research unit. After this, we held an annual general meeting. We announced the winners of our undergraduate essay competition: The winner is Colin Wilson who was nominated by Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London, and the runner-up is Lola Clugston, nominated by Stephen Elstub of Newcastle University. The judging panel’s laudatory feedback and the essays can now be accessed here. We then also used the opportunity to gather some feedback and ideas on future activities of PSA Parliaments.
The third panel explored different aspects of effectiveness and influence in parliaments and was chaired by our Co-convenor Ruxandra Serban. Greg Power (Global Partners Governance) discussed research on the impact of legislative turnover, particularly in terms of loss of parliamentary expertise and its potential effects on how parliaments work. Alex Prior (London Southbank University) and Louise Thompson (University of Manchester) presented new research on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association — its objectives, strategies, and impact. Our last presenter was Kiwi Ting (University of Reading), who looked in detail at the effects of virtual participation on MPs’ influence in parliamentary debates at Westminster during Covid-19.
For those not ready to bid farewell yet, we headed over to the Senedd for a private tour of the building, getting fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into the work of Welsh parliamentarians. The Heart of Wales in the Senedd chamber has cracked recently but we are not suspicious and are curious to follow how Welsh parliamentarism will develop pre- and post-2026.