The National Audit Office (NAO) is now over 40 years old, but it has its origins in the nineteenth century. In their new book, Henry Midgley, Laurence Ferry and Aileen Murphie offer an overview of the constitutional, political and human legacies of the NAO’s predecessor, the Exchequer and Audit Department, followed by a close examination of the NAO’s leadership and decision-making since its inception. They conclude that any debate about the organisation’s future is in fact a question about how the UK should be working to ensure democracy and good government.
Continue readingTag Archives: parliamentary scrutiny
Labour and the constitution: an uneven start for Starmer
Today the Unit published Monitor 88, providing an analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Alan Renwick and Meg Russell, which also serves as the issue’s lead article, reviews the new government’s early months, highlighting positive first steps, but also many opportunities for quick wins not taken. It highlights some positive action by the new government, like the publication of a revised Ministerial Code, a speech by the new Attorney General on the rule of law and small steps on parliamentary and electoral reform, as well as some less positive behaviour and inaction, such as failing to further strengthen of standards in public life, rushing legislation and not making further progress with parliamentary and electoral reform.
Continue readingHow to improve parliamentary scrutiny of the assisted dying bill
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has attracted considerable controversy, not just because of the subject matter of the bill, but because concern is growing that should the bill pass second reading, that there will be insufficient scrutiny. Dan Gover argues that parliament needs to take measures to ensure that this important subject gets the debate and scrutiny it deserves.
Continue readingHave select committee chair elections got more competitive?
Since 2010, the chairs of most House of Commons select committees have been elected by MPs. In this post, Tom Fleming explores recent suggestions that these elections have become more competitive. Results from five rounds of elections suggest a more complicated picture.
MPs elected the chairs of most House of Commons select committees in September. One excellent summary of those elections has raised the interesting prospect that they may have become more competitive over time. This matters, because select committee chairs are influential and prominent figures, with a leading role in parliamentary scrutiny of ministers. That makes it important to understand the process by which MPs win these positions. This blogpost therefore takes a closer look at the results of chair elections since they were introduced in 2010.
Continue readingWhat is the point of maiden speeches?
This year’s general election saw 335 new MPs elected to the House of Commons. Parliament has thus seen a large number of so-called ‘maiden speeches’, with many more still to come. In this post, Tom Fleming discusses maiden speeches’ potential benefits and downsides, and whether parliament could use its limited time more effectively.
As parliament returns for its September sitting, we can expect to hear plenty more ‘maiden speeches’: the first speech by each newly-elected MP. These were very prominent in the short July sitting after the general election, given that over half of all MPs are new to the House. This blogpost explores the benefits and downsides of these speeches, and asks whether – and how – limited parliamentary time could be used more effectively.
What are maiden speeches?
An MP’s first speech in the House of Commons after they are elected is generally known as a maiden speech. As set out in the MPs’ Guide to Procedure, such speeches are supposed to be relatively brief and uncontroversial, and relevant to the subject under debate. It is also conventional for MPs to talk about their constituency, and to pay tribute to its previous MP. These speeches are usually given some priority in debates, and other MPs may not intervene during them. MPs have traditionally not spoken in the Commons chamber in any way (such as asking questions) until after their maiden speech, but – as with the content of the speech – they are free to disregard this convention.
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