PSA ParliamentsThere has been plenty of procedural drama and political intrigue in the UK Parliament in the last fortnight. Mark Bennister, who is an academic fellow in the House of Commons, discusses why these events pose a challenge to how Westminster is perceived by the public.
The EU Withdrawal Bill’s return to the Commons saw SNP MPs protest about their voices having been excluded from the debate. Our Co-Convenor, Louise Thompson, explains how parliamentary procedures can indeed restrict debate for smaller opposition parties, and considers whether something ought to be done about it.
Dr Paul Seaward continues his A-Z of parliamentary history through its practices, customs and institutions. The blog series aims to reflect on institutional life: to show how institutions develop new practices, or adapt old ones, how they learn, how an institution keeps in step, or gets out of step, with, society at large. In his most recent blog, Dr Seaward looks at the role of the Leader of the House of Commons.
In a blog originally posted on The Conversation, Meg Russell, UCL, discusses the Lords stages of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.
Philip Lynch and Richard Whitaker discuss the work of the House of Commons Select Committee on Exiting the European Union, and its current split on the issue of hard or soft Brexit.
Andrew Defty, University of Lincoln, argues that the Opposition Day Debate on the Windrush affair in the House of Commons on Wednesday 2 May was a victory for Parliament.
In February this year, Oxford University Press published Exploring Parliament, which aims to provide an accessible introduction to the workings of the UK parliament. In this post, the book’s editors, Louise Thompson and Cristina Leston-Bandeira, explain why the book is necessary and what it hopes to achieve.
Dr Philip Aylett, House of Commons Clerk, discusses his doctoral research on select committees in the 1960s and 70s.
Launch of Exploring Parliament textbook at the House of Commons
Meg Russell and Philip Cowley discuss Anthony King’s seminal 1976 article ‘Modes of executive–legislative relations: Great Britain, France and West Germany’.
