Christiane Eisenbere (Ed.)

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A 2002/5402 Parliamentary Cultures British and German Perspectives

Parlamentskulturen Britische und deutsche Perspektiven

Centre for British Studies / GBZ Großbritannien-Zentrum HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN

Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier CONTENTS

EDITOR'S PREFACE 10

WELCOME 13

Adam Ladbury, British Council 13

Professor Jürgen Schlaeger, Centre for British Studies, Humboldt University 14

Sir Paul Lever, British Ambassador in Germany 15

KEYNOTE SPEECHES 17

The Constitutional Revolution in Britain since May 1997 The Lord Chancellor The Rt Hon the Lord Irvine of Lairg 17

The Bundestag in the Reichstag: Reflections on Parliamentary Work in Berlin in the 21st Century Rudolf Seiters MdB, Vice-President of the German Bundestag 27

Discussion 41

SESSION I PARLIAMENTS IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY: THE CULTURES OF PARLIAMENTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF MODERNISATION 52

The Modernisation of Parliament: Themes and Challenges Clive Soley MP, Chair Parliamentary Labour Party and Chair Modernisation of the House of Commons Select Committee 53

Discussion 63 The Modernisation of Parliament: Themes and Challenges Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB, Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag 72

Discussion 83

SESSION II WHAT ARE PARLIAMENTS FOR TODAY? 90

Parliaments in the Modern World: What are they for? Professor Anthony King, University of 90

The German Bundestag: What is it for? Professor Peter Lösche, University of Göttingen 97

Panel Discussion: Modernising frorn Within - Challenging from Without Professor Gert-Joachim Glaeßner, Humboldt University (Chair) Professor Anthony King, University of Essex Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB, German Bundestag Professor Peter Lösche, University of Göttingen CliveSoleyMP 105

SESSION III WHAT ARE MPs FOR? 118

From the Government to the Backbenches: Reflections of a former Conservative Minister Tim Boswell MP 118

What a Backbencher can do Ben Bradshaw MP 123

Panel Discussion: Do we really need Members of Parliament? Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB (chair) Carsten Schneider MdB, German Bundestag Nils Diederich, Free University Berlin Tim Boswell MP Ben Bradshaw MP 129 SESSION IV THE POWER OF THE MEDIA 153

Round Table Discussion Chair: The Rt Hon The Baroness Williams of Crosby 155

The Lobby (Political Reporters) and Politics in Britain: Who controls Whom? Adam Boulton, Political Editor, Sky TV, London 156

Radio Interviews and the Citizen Ed Stourton, Correspondent, BBC, London 162

Reporting Politics on ARD Hauptstadtstudio Robin Lautenbach, ARD Hauptstadtstudio 166

New Media, New Democracy Tristana Moore, Channel Four, ITN 171

Political Reporting in the German Press Jürgen Hogrefe, Der Spiegel 173

SESSION V PARLIAMENTS IN EUROPE: THE CULTURE OF CHANGE 178

Federalism after German Reunification Christine Lieberknecht MdL, President of the Landtag ofThuringia 179

Discussion 188

The Scottish Parliament: in Scotland, in Britain and in Europe Jim Wallace QC, Member of the Scottish Parliament, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice 195

Discussion , 201

Poland and Europe: Potential Impact of Accession Urszula Pallasz, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republicof Poland 208

Discussion 213 SESSION VI THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 217

Panel Discussion Dr Anthony Glees, Brunei University (Chair) MEP, Brüssels Peter Kittelmann MdA, Berlin Dr Roger Scully, University of Wales at Aberystwith 217

SUMMING-UP BY THE CONVENERS Professor Gert-Joachim Glaeßner, Humboldt University Dr. Anthony Glees, Brunei University 244

CLOSING REMARKS Adam Ladbury, British Council 247

CONTRIBUTORS 249 SESSION VI THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 217

Panel Discussion Dr Anthony Glees, Brunei University (Chair) Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Brüssels Peter Kittelmann MdA, Berlin Dr Roger Scully, University of Wales at Aberystwith 217

SUMMING-UP BY THE CONVENERS Professor Gert-Joachim Glaeßner, Humboldt University Dr. Anthony Glees, Brunei University 244

CLOSING REMARKS Adam Ladbury, British Council 247

CONTRIBUTORS 249