Parliamentary accountability
How do parliaments hold their governments to account?
Parliaments fulfil a range of functions, including the passing of legislation and enacting policies, representing the public through constituencies, and holding executives and associated public bodies to account for their decisions.
It is the last of these functions - accountability - which is a core element of my research. This has been the focus of my first monograph, and remains a key foundation to all my research and teaching activities.
Interpretations of ‘scrutiny’
Drawing on an interpretive approach, I completed a four-year ESRC-funded project between 2012 and 2016 on how UK MPs and officials interpret the idea of ‘scrutiny’. I spent three months observing MPs and officials along the committee corridor of the House of Commons, interviewed them about their views of scrutiny, and analysed reports and briefing papers to understand the role of scrutiny in the House of Commons. I found that ‘scrutiny’ is a contested term and that diverse interpretations lead to concomitant diversity of approaches to hold the government to account. It often falls to chairs of committees and officials that support them to try and bring coherence to scrutiny.
I have brought together a lot of my research into a book published in 2020, called Dramas at Westminster, where I adopt an interpretive lens (and use an analogy to theatre) to examine the views of MPs and officials, and how different actors practise scrutiny.
The health of democracy
In addition to my interest in accountability, I am also more generally interested in the status of parliaments in democratic politics, particularly in an age of declining trust in politicians and political institutions. I am interested in:
How we can rebuild trust in politics and politicians
Understanding how the public engage with political institutions
The causes and consequences of challenges to democratic governance
The effectiveness of politicians in enacting evidence-based policy
Ensuring that parliaments are effective in fulfilling their democratic functions
Exploring how MPs’ everyday lives (including their health) affects policy-making
Relevant publications
(2021) 'The webs of belief around 'evidence' in legislatures: The case of select committees in the UK House of Commons'. Public Administration 99:1, pp.40-54.
(2020) 'Explaining Change in Legislatures: Dilemmas of managerial reform in the UK House of Commons'. Political Studies. Early View. Co-author: A. Meakin.
(2020) Dramas at Westminster: Select Committees and the Quest for Accountability. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
This book was reviewed for LSE Review of Books by Dr Ben Worthy (Birkbeck) and for Representation by Dr Tom Caygill (Newcastle).
(2020) 'Governing under Pressure? The Mental Wellbeing of Politicians', Parliamentary Affairs 73:2, pp253-73. Co-authors: J. Weinberg, A. Weinberg, M. Flinders and R. Kwiatkowski.
(2020) ‘Democracy: Problems and challenges, opportunities and design’, in K. Larres and R. Wittlinger (eds.) Understanding Global Politics: Actors and themes in international affairs, London: Routledge. Co-author: M. Flinders.
(2019) 'Performing Scrutiny along the Committee Corridor of the UK House of Commons', Parliamentary Affairs 72:4, pp.821-40.
(2018) 'Committee Hearings of the UK Parliament: Who gives evidence and does this matter?', Parliamentary Affairs 71:2, pp.283-304.
(2018) ‘Supporting Members and Peers’, in C. Leston-Bandeira and L. Thompson (eds.) Exploring Parliament, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Co-author: J. Mulley.
(2014) ‘The Silent Revolution: A political history of the politics of patronage and reform’, Contemporary British History 28:1, pp.24-55. Co-author: M. Flinders.