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On Parliamentary Representation)
House of Commons Speaker's Conference (on Parliamentary Representation) Session 2008–09 Volume II Written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 21 April 2009 HC 167 -II Published on 27 May 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Speaker’s Conference (on Parliamentary Representation) The Conference secretariat will be able to make individual submissions available in large print or Braille on request. The Conference secretariat can be contacted on 020 7219 0654 or [email protected] On 12 November 2008 the House of Commons agreed to establish a new committee, to be chaired by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Michael Martin MP and known as the Speaker's Conference. The Conference has been asked to: "Consider, and make recommendations for rectifying, the disparity between the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large". It may also agree to consider other associated matters. The Speaker's Conference has until the end of the Parliament to conduct its inquiries. Current membership Miss Anne Begg MP (Labour, Aberdeen South) (Vice-Chairman) Ms Diane Abbott MP (Labour, Hackney North & Stoke Newington) John Bercow MP (Conservative, Buckingham) Mr David Blunkett MP (Labour, Sheffield, Brightside) Angela Browning MP (Conservative, Tiverton & Honiton) Mr Ronnie Campbell MP (Labour, Blyth Valley) Mrs Ann Cryer MP (Labour, Keighley) Mr Parmjit Dhanda MP (Labour, Gloucester) Andrew George MP (Liberal Democrat, St Ives) Miss Julie Kirkbride MP (Conservative, Bromsgrove) Dr William McCrea MP (Democratic Unionist, South Antrim) David Maclean MP (Conservative, Penrith & The Border) Fiona Mactaggart MP (Labour, Slough) Mr Khalid Mahmood MP (Labour, Birmingham Perry Barr) Anne Main MP (Conservative, St Albans) Jo Swinson MP (Liberal Democrat, East Dunbartonshire) Mrs Betty Williams MP (Labour, Conwy) Publications The Reports and evidence of the Conference are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. -
1 Mr Speaker's Speech to the Hansard Society, the Attlee Suite, June 9, 2010. Reform in a New Parliament
MR SPEAKER'S SPEECH TO THE HANSARD SOCIETY, THE ATTLEE SUITE, JUNE 9, 2010. REFORM IN A NEW PARLIAMENT – REVIVING THE CHAMBER Peter. Thank you for those kind words of introduction. There is much about the political circumstances in which we find ourselves that has changed but, perhaps mercifully, there is also some continuity. Peter, you continue to be the both the Chairman of the Hansard Society and among the most outstanding analysts of Whitehall and Westminster, while the Hansard Society continues to have the kindness, some might argue the sheer masochism, to host my speeches. It was a pleasure and privilege to offer two setpiece lectures to this distinguished forum last year and it is an honour to have the chance to set out further thoughts today. This is, manifestly, a very new political era, one which has witnessed far more radical change than I suspect any of us thought would take place when the old Parliament was dissolved on April 12th, a date that now seems almost a lifetime ago. The most dramatic example of this novelty is, of course, the creation of the first peacetime coalition since the 1930s with all the innovations which this requires in the way that both the executive and the legislature work. But that should not overshadow the considerable change which has occurred in the composition of the House of Commons itself. We have some 227 new MPs and 5 members who have re-entered the House. This is a slightly smaller intake than that of 1997 but still more than a third of the whole House, a figure which represents a massive turnover. -
By Professor Paul Webb (Sussex University) Who Addresses the Issue of Disaffection with Party Politics in Democratic Systems
democracy and p olitical parties bbyy PProrofessofessorr PPaaulul Webb With commentaries by John Healey MP, Geoff Mulgan and Baroness Shephard Democracy Series Editorial Board: Alex Brazier, Director, Parliament and Government Programme, Hansard Society Kate Jenkins, Vice Chair, Hansard Society Peter Riddell, The Times and Hansard Society Council Publications in the Democracy Series: Democracy and Islam Democracy and Voting Democracy and Capitalism Published by Hansard Society, 40-43 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1JA. Tel: 020 7438 1222. Fax: 020 7438 1229. Email: [email protected] © Hansard Society 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the Hansard Society. The Hansard Society is an independent, non-partisan educational charity, which exists to promote effective parliamentary democracy. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The Hansard Society and the DCA are neither for nor against. They are, however, happy to publish these views and to invite analysis and discussion of them. For further information on Hansard Society publications, visit our website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk ISBN: 978 0 900432 68 3 Design, print and production by Premier Corporate Mail Limited Cover design by Ross Ferguson Sub-editing by Virginia Gibbons The Democracy Series Democracy and Political Parties Contents Page No. Preface 2 Biographies 3 Political Parties and Democratic Disconnect: A Call for Research 5 Professor Paul Webb The challenge is to meld representation and participation 26 Geoff Mulgan The evidence is on the doorstep 29 Baroness Shephard Research is helpful – but action is essential 32 John Healey MP 1 Democracy and Political Parties The Democracy Series Preface Alex Brazier Editor, Democracy Series Political parties were, by far, the most dominant method of political organisation in 20th century Britain and they remain central to the functioning of the democratic system. -
Appendix: “Ideology, Grandstanding, and Strategic Party Disloyalty in the British Parliament”
Appendix: \Ideology, Grandstanding, and Strategic Party Disloyalty in the British Parliament" August 8, 2017 Appendix Table of Contents • Appendix A: Wordscores Estimation of Ideology • Appendix B: MP Membership in Ideological Groups • Appendix C: Rebellion on Different Types of Divisions • Appendix D: Models of Rebellion on Government Sponsored Bills Only • Appendix E: Differences in Labour Party Rebellion Following Leadership Change • Appendix F: List of Party Switchers • Appendix G: Discussion of Empirical Model Appendix A: Wordscores Estimation of Ideology This Appendix describes our method for ideologically scaling British MPs using their speeches on the welfare state, which were originally produced for a separate study on welfare reform (O'Grady, 2017). We cover (i) data collection, (ii) estimation, (iii) raw results, and (iv) validity checks. The resulting scales turn out to be highly valid, and provide an excellent guide to MPs' ideologies using data that is completely separate to the voting data that forms the bulk of the evidence in our paper. A1: Collection of Speech Data Speeches come from an original collection of every speech made about issues related to welfare in the House of Commons from 1987-2007, covering the period over which the Labour party moved 1 to the center under Tony Blair, adopted and enacted policies of welfare reform, and won office at the expense of the Conservatives. Restricting the speeches to a single issue area is useful for estimating ideologies because with multiple topics there is a danger of conflating genuine extremism (a tendency to speak in extreme ways) with a tendency or requirement to talk a lot about topics that are relatively extreme to begin with (Lauderdale and Herzog, 2016). -
The 2009 British Mps' Expenses Scandal: Origins, Evolution And
The 2009 British MPs’ Expenses Scandal: Origins, Evolution and Consequences Jennifer vanHeerde-Hudson and Orlanda Ward This chapter introduces the British MPs’ expenses scandal; its origins, evolution and consequences. We argue that despite some early predictions, the scandal was limited in its impact: the purported ‘revolution’ never occurred. We briefly review the comparative literature on political impact of scandal, which illustrates why the effects of scandals are usually limited and reasons why voters may choose not to punish malfeasant politicians. We situate this scandal against other, international scandals, highlighting similarities and differences in the effects of scandal depending on cultural contexts. The chapter illustrates the mediated nature of the scandal and how it is best understood as comprised of not only the acts of politicians themselves, but a series of moves and counter-moves by the press and other actors. Introduction On 8 May 2009 the Daily Telegraph began publishing un-redacted expenses claims made by British MPs. The revelation of parliamentary expenses showed how, and the extent to which, some MPs took advantage of an unregulated expenses system—a system designed by, and vigorously protected against outside interference, by MPs themselves. The expenses regime was intended to cover the costs of performing parliamentary duties: operating costs for running constituency offices (including staff salaries, rent, computers, etc.) and communications and travel as part of their parliamentary duties. The regime also included Additional Costs Allowances (ACA)1, worth up to £24,000 annually, to reimburse MPs for the expense of staying away from their primary home while performing their parliamentary duties. -
Brexit: Where Do We Go from Here? February 2020
BREXIT: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? FEBRUARY 2020 The UK general election which took place on 12 December 2019 was a pivotal moment in the long-running Brexit saga. Boris Johnson's primary objective in calling the election (or, more to the point, given the parliamentary super-majority required to call an early general election, managing to prevail on the other political parties to agree to one) was to break the parliamentary stalemate on Brexit. His rallying cry of "Get Brexit done" plainly resonated with the electorate, and the Conservative Party was returned with a resounding 80-seat majority. Before the election, Boris Johnson had been attempting to force Brexit through parliament with a wafer-thin majority, and then with a minority government once he had withdrawn the Conservative whip from those MPs who had voted in favour of delaying Brexit until 31 January 2020, rather than face a no-deal departure on 31 October 20201. Once the scale of his parliamentary majority became clear, obtaining parliamentary approval for the revised Withdrawal Agreement which Boris Johnson had negotiated with the EU in October 2019, and of passing the legislation to embed the Withdrawal Agreement into UK domestic legislation, became a foregone conclusion. Demonstrating the scale of Boris Johnson's victory, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill passed through parliament without a single amendment (the House of Lords proposed five separate amendments, but these were all rejected by the House of Commons) on its way to becoming the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 20202. As part of the parliamentary stages of creating the new Act, the House of Commons voted to undertake the Committee stage and Third Reading stage of the bill in three days, a move described by the Hansard Society as "an extraordinarily reduced amount of scrutiny for a bill of the WAB's complexity and constitutional importance", and which reflects the speed and flexibly with which many parliamentary events can take place when a government commands a significant House of Commons majority. -
Former Members Sentenced to Imprisonment
House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges Former Members sentenced to imprisonment Sixteenth Report of Session 2010–12 Report and Appendix, together with formal minutes Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 14 June 2011 HC 1215 Published on 15 June 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Committee on Standards and Privileges The Committee on Standards and Privileges is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; to examine the arrangements proposed by the Commissioner for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members’ Interests and any other registers of interest established by the House; to review from time to time the form and content of those registers; to consider any specific complaints made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests referred to it by the Commissioner; to consider any matter relating to the conduct of Members, including specific complaints in relation to alleged breaches in the Code of Conduct which have been drawn to the Committee’s attention by the Commissioner; and to recommend any modifications to the Code of Conduct as may from time to time appear to be necessary. Current membership Rt hon Kevin Barron MP (Labour, Rother Valley) (Chair) Sir Paul Beresford MP (Conservative, Mole Valley) Tom Blenkinsop MP (Labour, Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland) Annette Brooke MP (Liberal Democrat, Mid Dorset and North Poole) Rt hon Tom Clarke MP (Labour, Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) Mr Geoffrey Cox MP (Conservative, Torridge and West Devon) Matthew Hancock MP (Conservative, West Suffolk) Oliver Heald MP (Conservative, North East Hertfordshire) Heather Wheeler MP (Conservative, South Derbyshire) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) Powers The constitution and powers of the Committee are set out in Standing Order No. -
Recall of Parliament
By Richard Kelly 16 September 2021 Recall of Parliament Summary 1 Recent recalls of the House of Commons 2 List of recalls 3 The procedure and calls for it to be changed 4 Members’ expenses associated with the recall of Parliament 5 Procedure in the House of Lords 6 Procedure in the Devolved Legislatures commonslibrary.parliament.uk Number 1186 Recall of Parliament Image Credits CRI-1564 by UK Parliament/Mark Crick image. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image cropped Disclaimer The Commons Library does not intend the information in our research publications and briefings to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You should not rely upon it as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein. You should consult a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information. Read our briefing ‘Legal help: where to go and how to pay’ for further information about sources of legal advice and help. This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence. Feedback Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in these publicly available briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated to reflect subsequent changes. If you have any comments on our briefings please email [email protected]. Please note that authors are not always able to engage in discussions with members of the public who express opinions about the content of our research, although we will carefully consider and correct any factual errors. -
Anti-Politics
C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/12204736/WORKINGFOLDER/NICKK/9781316516218PRE.3D i [1–16] 8.1.2018 4:30PM The Good Politician Text to follow C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/12204736/WORKINGFOLDER/NICKK/9781316516218PRE.3D ii [1–16] 8.1.2018 4:30PM C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/12204736/WORKINGFOLDER/NICKK/9781316516218PRE.3D iii [1–16] 8.1.2018 4:30PM The Good Politician Folk Theories, Political Interaction, and the Rise of Anti-Politics Nick Clarke University of Southampton Will Jennings University of Southampton Jonathan Moss University of Sussex Gerry Stoker University of Southampton and University of Canberra C:/ITOOLS/WMS/CUP-NEW/12204736/WORKINGFOLDER/NICKK/9781316516218PRE.3D iv [1–16] 8.1.2018 4:30PM University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06-04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781316516218 DOI: 10.1017/9781108641357 © Nick Clarke, Will Jennings, Jonathan Moss and Gerry Stoker 2018 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2018 Printed in <country> by <printer> A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. -
Living Former Members of the House of Commons
BRIEFING PAPER Number 05324, 7 January 2019 Living former Members Compiled by of the House of Sarah Priddy Commons Living former Members MPs are listed with any titles at the time they ceased to be an MP and the party they belonged to at the time. The list does not include MPs who now sit in the House of Lords. A list of members of the House of Lords who were Members of the House of Commons can be found on the Parliament website under House of Lords FAQs. Further information More detailed information on MPs who served between 1979 and 2010, including ministerial posts and party allegiance, covering their time in the UK Parliament and other legislatures, can be found in the Commons Library Briefing on Members 1979-2010. Association of Former Members of Parliament The PoliticsHome website has contact details for the Association of Former Members of Parliament. Parliament: facts and figures • Browse all briefings in the series This series of publications contains data on various subjects relating to Parliament and Government. Topics include legislation, MPs, select committees, debates, divisions and Parliamentary procedure. Feedback Any comments, corrections or suggestions for new lists should be sent to the Parliament and Constitution Centre. Suggestions for new lists welcomed. www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary Living former Members of the House of Commons Note: Does not include MPs who are now sit in the House of Lords Name Full Title Party* List Name Mr -
Parliament in the Public Eye
Prelims.qxd 26/05/2005 11:06 Page i Members Only? Parliament in the Public Eye The Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy HANSARD SOCIETY Prelims.qxd 26/05/2005 11:06 Page ii Text © Hansard Society 2005 Hansard Society, 9 Kingsway, London WC2B 6XF Published on behalf of the Hansard Society by Dod’s Parliamentary Communications, Westminster Tower, 3 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the Hansard Society. The Hansard Society is an independent, non-partisan educational charity, which exists to promote effective parliamentary democracy. For information about other Hansard Society publications visit our website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk The views expressed in this publication are those of the Commission.The Hansard Society, as an independent non-party organisation, is neither for nor against.The Society is, however, happy to publish these views and to invite analysis and discussion of them. ISBN 0 900432 77 2 Typesetting by Dod’s Parliamentary Communications Printed in Great Britain by Unwin Brothers,The Gresham Press, Old Woking, Surrey Prelims.qxd 26/05/2005 11:06 Page iii Members of the Commission Chair: Lord Puttnam Vice-chair: Jackie Ashley Patrick Barwise Stephen Coleman Matthew d’Ancona Patricia Hodgson Raji Hunjan Andrew Lansley MP Martin Linton MP Lord Renton of Mount Harry Peter Riddell John Sergeant Richard Tait Paul Tyler Fran Unsworth David Yelland Consultant to the Commission: Yusef Azad Managing Clerk: Gemma Rosenblatt Acknowledgements This report was drafted by Yusef Azad,Consultant to the Commission,and Gemma Rosenblatt, Managing Clerk. -
Parliamentary Privilege: Current Issues
Parliamentary privilege: current issues Standard Note: SN/PC/06390 Last updated: 16 July 2013 Author: Oonagh Gay Section Parliament and Constitution Centre There have been developments in parliamentary privilege since the last major review by the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege report in 1999. There was renewed interest from the Government in legislation following suggestions that prosecuting former Members for alleged expenses abuse might involve issues of privilege. In the event, the Chaytor case found that parliamentary privilege was not engaged. More recently, the question of clarifying select committee powers has been raised, following the report from the Culture Media and Sport Committee on News International and Phone Hacking in May 2012. The Government issued a green paper entitled Parliamentary Privilege on 26 April 2012, to begin a consultation on parliamentary privilege. The Paper included draft clauses on: • removing the protection of Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 from Members accused of various criminal offences; • giving power to the House of Commons to allow lay members of House of Commons Standards Committee to vote in proceedings of the committee; • amending the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 to rebalance the burden of proof in favour of reporters; • amending the same Act to provide unambiguous protection for broadcasts of proceedings whose broadcasting has been authorised in by the House together with a qualified protection for broadcasts of parliamentary proceedings not authorised by the House. The paper stated that it would be right for Parliament to have a proper opportunity to reflect through the vehicle of a Joint Committee. This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual.