Performing Politics Emma Crewe, SOAS, University of London
Westminster MPs: performing politics Emma Crewe, SOAS, University of London Intentions My aim is to explore the work of Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) in parliament and constituencies and convey both the diversity and dynamism of their political performances.1 Rather than contrasting MPs with an idealised version of what they might be, I interpret MPs’ work as I see it. If I have any moral and political intent, it is to argue that disenchantment with politics is misdirected – we should target our critiques at politicians in government rather than in their parliamentary role – and to call for fuller citizens’ engagement with political processes. Some explanation of my fieldwork in the UK’s House of Commons will help readers understand how and why I arrived at this interpretation. In 2011 then Clerk of the House, Sir Malcolm Jack, who I knew from doing research in the House of Lords (1998-2002), ascertained that the Speaker was ‘content for the research to proceed’, and his successor, Sir Robert Rogers, issued me with a pass and assigned a sponsor. I roamed all over the Palace, outbuildings and constituencies during 2012 (and to a lesser extent in 2013) listening, watching and conversing wherever I went. This entailed (a) observing interaction in debating chambers, committee rooms and in offices (including the Table Office) in Westminster and constituencies, (b) over 100 pre-arranged unstructured interviews with MPs, former MPs, officials, journalists, MPs’ staff and peers, (c) following four threads: media/twitter exchanges, the Eastleigh by-election with the three main parties, scrutiny of the family justice part of the Children and Families Bill, and constituency surgeries, (d) advising parliamentary officials on seeking MPs’ feedback on House services.
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