Parliament

There are not one, but two, spectres haunting British government (to paraphrase Marx and Engels). They are two sometimes obscure but very real views on the way the British constitution is supposed to work. The first, and usually dominant, view is … [Read more...] about Westminster vs Whitehall: Who will win?

Introduction:  Abolishing the House of Lords sounds like a daring and profoundly modern proposition, but it has longstanding historical precedent. The House of Lords was actually abolished once before – in 1649.  On 19 March 1649 it … [Read more...] about A Very Short History of The House of Lords

On 23 July, the UK Parliament posted on its X account to say the House of Commons had risen for the summer. Alongside an incongruous eight-second video of the English countryside set to a pulsing dance beat, it continued, ‘During recess MPs carry out … [Read more...] about Recesses, Recalls and Angry Residents: Here Comes the Summer

The current Labour government’s majority is a very healthy 156 and taking in to consideration those that do not vote (Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Sinn Fein and so on) this turns into a working majority of 166. For the Government to be … [Read more...] about Rebel Rebel: They Put You Down, They Say I’m Wrong

As the Labour Party faced down a significant rebellion of its backbench MPs on welfare reforms recently, attention turned to parliamentary arithmetic as people tried to work out exactly what kind of majority Keir Starmer had in Parliament. Under … [Read more...] about Look out behind you! The payroll vote in government

The very thought of holding down a second job while I was a Member of Parliament was, frankly, laughable. Not only did it seem right to focus on the work I'd been elected to do, but the weekly 400-mile round trip between Westminster and the … [Read more...] about Moonlighting MPs: Should our parliamentarians have second jobs?

The Facts  On Saturday, 12 April 2025, Parliament was recalled to enact “emergency legislation” conferring upon the Government powers take control of British Steel’s blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, to prevents its Chinese owners from shutting … [Read more...] about Anything but Ironclad: Enacting the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 

Reflecting on the new Constitution of India, Kengal Hanumanthaiah – a member of the Constituent Assembly – remarked in 1949, “We wanted the music of a veena or sitar, but here we have the music of an English band.” His disappointment in the heritage … [Read more...] about ‘Eastminster’: English bands and sitars

The electronic petitions process enables members of the public to submit a formal request calling upon Parliament or the Government to undertake some form of action. On 6 January, Parliament debated an electronic petition calling for another general … [Read more...] about Are Online Petitions Useful? Parliamentary Petitions in UK Democracy

The judgement of MPs In a much-quoted speech in 1774, Edmund Burke, newly elected Member of Parliament for Bristol, argued 'Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he … [Read more...] about Free votes: a democratic ideal? 

Last week, following a historic vote in Parliament, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (or the Assisted Dying Bill, as it has come to be known) passed its Second Reading in the House of Commons. By a majority of 55, MPs voted in favour, … [Read more...] about The Constitutional Question of the Assisted Dying Bill

One of the most significant constitutional developments since 1997 has been the rise of the parliamentary select committee. As a scrutiny mechanism, these bodies have become ever more prominent, with chair positions an increasingly attractive … [Read more...] about Is it Time to Reform the Intelligence and Security Committee?