Author: psaparliaments

Blog

What is a good ethnography of Parliament?

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 29, 2015

By Emma Crewe

Ethnography is a methodological and theoretical approach to studying social worlds. Doing ethnography does not require particular research techniques but is a process of prolonged engagement with a group of people to find out how they act, think, talk and relate to each other. Ethnographers’ understanding of subjectivity is distinct from positivistic approaches; rather than attempting to remove their influence on the research findings, they make this part of their research. Such reflexivity entails turning back on oneself, reflecting on how you are thinking and on how the social interaction between ethnographer and informant impacts on perception and interpretation.

Tags culture, House of Commons, House of Lords, methodology, parliament, reflexivity, research methods, social networks

News

Newsletter, 13 July 2015

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 13, 2015

Our newsletters are usually sent out once every three to four weeks directly to your email. For more information on membership and how to receive regular direct updates from the group, please click here.

News

Summary of PhD Research Workshop

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 7, 2015

On 25 June, the specialist group (SG) held a research workshop on research methods for doctoral research students and early career academics, which provided a rich source of information and sharing of ideas between attendees.

Tags doctoral research, early career academics, ethnography, mixed methods, quantitative methods, research methods

Blog

EVEL: ‘A major moment in the constitutional history of these islands’

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 6, 2015

This post was originally posted on the Centre for Constitutional Change website on 03 July, which is available here, and has been re-posted with permission.

By Michael Kenny

The government’s announcement of its much anticipated proposals for the introduction of ‘English votes for English laws’ in the House of Commons, involves changes to the rules for scrutinising individual Bills, or clauses within them, that affect England, or England and Wales only. The reforms are proposed as an answer to the West Lothian question – the situation whereby MPs from the devolved territories can vote on matters that affect England only, such as Education, but English MPs cannot reciprocate on issues that are devolved.

Tags constitutional reform, EVEL, Scotland

Blog

EVEL and Democratic Reform

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 6, 2015

This post was originally posted on the Centre for Constitutional Change website on 03 July, which is available here, and has been re-posted with permission.

By Michael Keating

The introduction of English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) faces a problem, says Michael Keating, in that only a minority of English voters will ever have supported the laws in question.

The government has now come up with its answer to the West Lothian Question, that Scottish MPs can vote on English matters but not the other way around. Unfortunately, it is not the type of question that has an answer, but rather a conundrum. English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) is therefore not going to satisfy everyone or resolve the issue. It may address some immediate grievances but is a very partial response to a much bigger issue.

Tags constitutional reform, EVEL, Scotland

News

Essay competition result

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date July 3, 2015

This spring, the Parliaments and Legislatures SG held the first essay competition open to all undergraduate students. This essay competition was open, where students were asked to write about a parliament, legislature, or a specific matter concerning legislative studies.

Tags essay competition, House of Lords, UK Parliament

Blog

Post-Legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament: Identifying a research agenda

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date June 17, 2015

By Thomas Caygill

All too often, once legislation has entered the statute book, Parliament assumes that is the end of the matter and the end of its role. However it has been noted by the House of Lords Constitution Committee that Parliament’s responsibility for legislation should not end once legislation has entered the statute book. This is where post-legislative scrutiny enters the picture.

Tags House of Lords, legislation, post-legislative scrutiny, Scottish Parliament, scrutiny, select committees, UK Parliament

Blog

UQ if you want to: John Bercow’s impact on Urgent Questions

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date June 10, 2015

The following piece presents the research findings of a final year undergraduate dissertation based at the University of Hull.

By Ben Goldsborough

Speaker John Bercow has repeatedly reaffirmed his belief that increased use of Urgent Questions (UQs) in the chamber of the House of Commons has made ‘ministers…become much more willing to volunteer statements to the House than had become the habit for many years previously’. But until now this statement was based on anecdotal evidence and not solid data. This research aims to understand if UQs are an effective scrutiny tool in order to hold the executive to account. To do so, it has looked at the role of the last three Speakers’ use of UQs (and previously Private Notice Questions). The following analysis is split into three sections: first, how many and what types of question were granted; second, who answered the questions; and third, who asked the questions in the first place.

Tags Betty Boothroyd, House of Commons, John Bercow, Michael Martin, parliamentary scrutiny, Private Notice Questions, Speaker, UK Parliament, UQs, Urgent Questions

News

New report from the Institute for Government on select committees

Post author By psaparliaments
Post date June 9, 2015

The Institute for Government is today calling for reforms to the ways that select committees operate. To fulfil their crucial role in scrutinising government, these committees must improve their focus on what they are trying to achieve and their understanding of their own impact; and they must be better supported and led than by the currently-dysfunctional Liaison Committee.