Exploring Parliament

A fresh perspective on the work, impact, and relevance of UK Parliament, combining academic and practitioner perspectives with evidence based case studies to reveal what really goes on behind the scenes.

List of contents

• Part I: Introducing the UK Parliament


• 1: Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Alexandra Meakin, Paul Silk, Louise Thompson, and Aileen Walker: Introduction


• 2: Philip Norton: Parliament in context


• 3: Sean Haughey, Mark Shephard, and Diana Stirbu: Westminster in the UK context


• Part II: People and places in parliament


• 4: Richard Kelly and Louise Thompson: The political organisation of parliament


• 5: Sarah Petit and Benjamin Yong: The governance of parliament


• 6: Matthew Congreve and Rebecca McKee: Supporting Members and Peers


• 7: Emma Crewe and Paul Evans: The significance of rituals in parliament


• 8: Kate Anderson, Alexandra Meakin, and Alex Prior: Spaces and places in parliament


• Part III: Law Making


• 9: Liam Laurence Smyth, and Matt Korris: The legislative process


• 10: Meg Russell and Daniel Gover: Parliamentary scrutiny and influence on government bills


• 11: Ruth Fox and Brigid Fowler: Delegated legislation


• 12: Tom Caygill and Michael Collon: Post-legislative scrutiny


• 13: Nia Moss and Gareth Williams: Interparliamentary relations


• 14: Ruth Dixon and Anne-Marie Griffiths: Private Members' Bills


• 15: Felicity Matthews and Paul E J Thomas: Campaigning to change law and policy


• Part IV: Scrutiny and Accountability


• 16: Martyn Atkins, Andrew Defty, and James Strong: The Westminster Model of accountability


• 17: Marc Geddes and Farrah Bhatti: Select Committees in the House of Commons


• 18: Ruxandra Serban, Luke Hussey, and Peter Kerr: Questioning the government


• 19: Rosanna Barry and Chloe Mawson: Scrutiny by the House of Lords


• 20: Lucinda Maer and Richard Whitaker: Scrutiny in challenging times


• 21: Sasha Fuller, Alasdair Rendall, and Anikka Weerasinghe: Parliament and the media


• Part V: Representation


• 22: Richard Cracknell and Ekaterina Kolpinskaya: Diversity and representation in the House of Commons


• 23: Rosie Campbell, Chloe Challender, Sarah Childs, and Jessica Smith: Women in the House of Commons


• 24: Nicholas Allen and Emma Salisbury: MPs and their constituencies


• 25: Stephen Holden Bates and Caroline Bhattacharya: The role of a backbencher


• 26: Peter Dorey and Matthew Purvis: Representation in the Lords


• 27: Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Emma McIntosh, and Ben Pearson: Parliament and public engagement


• Part VI: Challenges


• 28: Alistair Clark and Hannah White: Conduct and standards of parliamentarians


• 29: Margaret McKinnon, Stefanie Reher, and James Weinberg: Challenges facing MPs


• 30: Elise Uberoi and Ben Worthy: Trust in parliament


• 31: Mark Bennister and Kevin Maddison: Reforming parliament


• 32: Graeme Cowie and Jack Sheldon: A Parliament for the Union?


• 33: David Judge: Conclusion: the future of parliamentary politics

About the author

Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira is a Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds. She has worked on parliaments for nearly 30 years. She is Chair of the International Parliament Engagement Network and a previous Chair of the UK Study of Parliament Group (2019-22). Professor Leston-Bandeira's research focuses on public engagement with parliament, having published widely on the topic and having secured funding from the AHRC, the British Academy, ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust. She regularly gives evidence to parliaments on public engagement, having held a fellowship with the Petitions Committee of the UK House of Commons in 2016-17. She is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing the quality and innovation of her teaching, including a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship (2012) and the Political Studies Association Bernard Crick Main Prize for Outstanding Teaching (2010).

Dr Alexandra Meakin is Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Leeds. Her research focuses on parliamentary governance and the plans to repair the buildings of the UK Parliament (known as the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster). Dr Meakin's PhD 'Understanding the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster: A case study of institutional change in the UK Parliament' was awarded by the University of Sheffield in 2019 and received the 2020 Walter Bagehot Prize for best dissertation in the field of government and public administration by the Political Studies Association. She is a member of the Study of Parliament Group and the International Parliament Engagement Network, and a former convenor of the Political Studies Association Specialist Group on Parliaments and Legislatures. Prior to entering academia, Dr Meakin worked for over a decade in Westminster, for select committees in the House of Commons and for MPs.

Dr Louise Thompson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on legislative scrutiny, committees and political parties in the House of Commons. She is the co-editor of Parliamentary Affairs and a POST parliamentary fellow (2024-2025) undertaking research with the UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. She was previously the Co-Convenor of the Political Studies Association's specialist group on Parliaments and Legislatures (2014-2018). In 2022, Dr Thompson was awarded the Political Studies Association's Richard Rose Prize for a distinctive contribution to the study of British Politics.

Summary

A fresh perspective on the work, impact, and relevance of UK Parliament, combining academic and practitioner perspectives with evidence based case studies to reveal what really goes on behind the scenes.

Product details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 07.03.2025
• EAN: 9780192888747
• ISBN: 978-0-19-288874-7
• No. of pages: 426
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Constitutions, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Affairs & Administration, Constitution: government & the state, Central / national / federal government, Central government, Constitution: government and the state