Following the Unit’s January seminar, Can the House of Commons handle multi-party politics?, panellist Louise Thompson explains the procedural and logistical obstacles facing small parties in the House of Commons. She calls for parliamentary institutions to adapt their processes, and concludes that formalising some current informal arrangements and looking at ways to increase equalities of opportunity across all opposition parties would be sensible next steps.
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This week marks a year since the House of Commons established a new Modernisation Committee. In this post, Tom Fleming reviews the committee’s first year.
Continue readingCharles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey two years ago today. Much tradition is bound up with the coronation, but how much of it is binding on the monarch, and what elements of it can his successor do away with, should he wish? In this post, Carolyn Harris and Philippe Lagassé outline the difference between a constitutional convention, which is considered to be constitutionally binding, and custom and practice, which are not. They discuss how Charles III’s coronation differed from those of his predecessors, before looking forward to the coronation of the next monarch and how the current heir to the throne might also do things differently, should he become king.
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Since taking office, Keir Starmer has used his opening answer at Prime Minister’s Questions very differently from his predecessors. In this post, Ruxandra Serban and Tom Fleming explore how Starmer’s approach to opening PMQs compares to that of other post-1997 Prime Ministers.
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The House of Commons Modernisation Committee is considering potential reforms to Commons procedures, standards and working practices, and recently ran a consultation exercise to establish its priorities. In this post, Dr Daniel Gover analyses flaws with the procedures for private members’ bills and opposition days, and makes the case for reform.
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