scholarly journals Partisan Dealignment and Personal Vote-Seeking in Parliamentary Behaviour

2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172095350
Author(s):  
Thomas G Fleming
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Electoral Strategies ◽  
Legislative Proposals ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Election Results ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Relationship

What shapes legislators’ incentives for personal vote-seeking in parliament? Recent work suggests that partisanship among voters deters personal vote-seeking, by limiting its effectiveness. This has potentially significant implications for policy-making, election results and patterns of accountability. However, empirical tests of this argument remain few in number and have several limitations. This article thus offers a new test of the relationship between partisanship and personal vote-seeking. Using legislators’ bill proposals as an indicator of their personal vote-seeking activity, I analyse legislative behaviour in the UK House of Commons between 1964 and 2017. I find that members of parliament make more legislative proposals when voters are less partisan. Moreover, partisanship appears to moderate the influence of other drivers of personal vote-seeking: electorally vulnerable legislators make more legislative proposals, but only at low levels of partisanship. These findings provide new evidence that voters’ relationships with political parties affect legislators’ electoral strategies and parliamentary behaviour.

scholarly journals Disability, Rights and Vulnerability in British Parliamentary Debate

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Odell
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Parliamentary Debate ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Disability Movement ◽  
The Welfare State

This paper examines discussion of disability and disabled people by Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons from 1979–2017. It examines general trends in the number of speeches mentioning disability, including the parties and MPs most likely to mention disability issues, and examines how disability is used in conjunction with two keywords: ‘rights’ and ‘vulnerable’. It uses these keywords to explore two conceptions of how the state should engage with disability and disabled people: a paternalistic conception (which post-2010 has become more common) and a rights-based conception (which has been in decline since the 1990s). I conclude with a discussion about how this reflects the disability movement in the UK, and what it means for the future of disability politics, the welfare state and how disabled people themselves might view paternalistic government policies.

15. Case Study: Constitutionally Contested Legislation

Public Law ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 443-482
Author(s):  
Andrew Le Sueur ◽  
Maurice Sunkin ◽  
Jo Eric Khushal Murkens
Keyword(s):  
Wild Animals ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Constitutional Conventions ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter looks at the circumstances surrounding two events. The first is the 2005 decision of the UK Parliament to set up a committee to examine whether the constitutional conventions governing the relationship between the House of Lords and the House of Commons should be codified. The second is the decision of the Commons (and the Labour government) to press ahead and present the Hunting Bill 2004 for royal assent despite the opposition of the Lords to the policy of a total ban on hunting wild animals with dogs; the Lords preferred a policy of licensed hunting.

5. The Significance of Rituals in Parliament

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Crewe ◽  
Paul Evans
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Political World ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Power Hierarchy ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines the significance of rituals in the UK Parliament, focusing on the centrality of rules in such rituals, how parliamentary debates are ritualized, and how ceremonies order relationships between different groups in our political world. It first explains the purpose of parliamentary rituals and how they are regulated, showing that the value attached to the way Parliament ritualizes its interaction is strongly contested between Members of Parliament (MPs) and by outside commentators. In particular, it considers Standing Orders, rules made by either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to set out the way certain aspects of House procedures operate. The chapter also discusses how rituals result in conflict and conciliation and as markers of power, hierarchy, and identity in Parliament.

scholarly journals The Assessment of Financial Literacy: New Evidence from Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolini ◽  
Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Financial Behaviors ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Literacy Research

The hypothesis that people with more financial literacy make better financial decisions and show positive financial behaviors is crucial for more than one stakeholder. A weak connection between financial literacy and financial behaviors jeopardizes the opportunity to invest in financial education and to develop a consumer protection framework based on the chance to develop aware and responsible financial consumers. This study uses data from different countries (Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, the UK), using surveys devised and fielded specifically to measure financial literacy and in order to assess if the availability of a broad set of items on financial literacy allows to develop new measures of financial literacy to better understand the relationship between financial literacy and financial behaviors. The well-established Lusardi–Mitchell questions are compared with measures that differ in terms of number of items (the “50-items” index), range of topics (the “5-specific” index), or selection process of the items (the “unbiased” index). Results support the hypothesis that the Lusardi–Mitchell questions remain a good measure in a first-step analysis, but a deeper understanding of the connection between financial literacy and financial behaviors benefits from the measures proposed in the study, that should be considered as additional assessment tools in financial literacy research.

A General Model of Author “Style” with Application to the UK House of Commons, 1935–2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-434
Author(s):  
Leslie Huang ◽  
Patrick O. Perry ◽  
Arthur Spirling
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Model ◽  
General Model ◽  
Panel Regression ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Covariate Effects ◽  
The Uk

We consider evidence for the assertion that backbench members of parliament (MPs) in the UK have become less distinctive from one another in terms of their speech. Noting that this claim has considerable normative and substantive implications, we review theory and findings in the area, which are ultimately ambiguous on this question. We then provide a new statistical model of distinctiveness that extends traditional efforts to statistically characterize the “style” of authors and apply it to a corpus of Hansard speeches from 1935 to 2018. In the aggregate, we find no evidence for the claim of more homogeneity. But this hides intriguing covariate effects: at the MP-level, panel regression results demonstrate that on average, more senior backbenchers tend to be less “different” in speech terms. We also show, however, that this pattern is changing: in recent times, it is more experienced MPs who speak most distinctively.

Election Management

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Ann Garnett
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Formal Design ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Election Laws

This chapter provides new evidence about the ways that election management bodies (EMBs) remain transparent with a variety of stakeholders. In particular, it operationalizes and measures transparency in election management through a content analysis of the websites of 99 EMBs around the globe. It considers five key dimensions of transparency: activity reports, election results, EMB hierarchy, EMB members, and election laws. With this new measure of EMB transparency, this chapter tests two major questions within the field of electoral governance. First, it explores whether the formal design of an EMB is related to its transparency, and secondly, it looks at the relationship between transparency and public confidence in elections.

30. Parliament and Petitions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Caygill ◽  
Anne-Marie Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
System P ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines how the UK Parliament has used the e-petitions system to address some of the common criticisms about the relationship between the institution of government and the public. In May 2014, the House of Commons agreed to establish a ‘collaborative’ e-petitions system which would enable the public to petition the House of Commons and to call for action from the government. A Petitions Committee was created on 20 July 2015, and the new e-petitions site was launched the following day. The chapter first provides an overview of the changing nature of participation with Parliament, especially voting in elections, before discussing contemporary developments in petitioning Parliament. In particular, it considers public (paper) petitions and compares it to the e-petitions system. It also analyses the impact of e-petitions on Parliament and public participation and concludes with an assessment of challenges facing the e-petitions system.

Measurements of Backbench Attitudes by Guttman Scaling of Early Day Motions: A Pilot Study, Labour, 1968–69

1977 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Leece ◽  
Hugh Berrington
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Political Behaviour ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Guttman Scaling ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

This research is addressed to the problem of constructing scales of political attitudes within the British House of Commons. Our aim, broadly, is to produce measures that will enable us to distinguish between backbenchers of the same party – for example, a Right-Left scale applied to the Labour party – and to relate these data to biographical variables and other measures of political behaviour. Moreover, by observing the relationship between Members' positions on different scales, and changes over time, we hope to learn more about the belief-systems of Members of Parliament.

18. The Role of a Backbench MP

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Shephard ◽  
Jack Simson Caird
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Legislative Branch ◽  
Parliamentary Systems ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk

This chapter considers the nature and roles of backbench Members of Parliament (MPs) as well as their impact and influence, placing emphasis on the Backbench Business Committee. The term ‘backbench’ refers to where the MPs or peers sit in the House of Commons — behind those with either ministerial frontbench or shadow ministerial frontbench positions. The definition of a backbencher holds in many other parliamentary systems where the executive is drawn from the legislative branch (for example, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia). However, emphasis on the role of backbenchers might vary depending on the parliamentary system. The chapter discusses the role of backbenchers in the UK Parliament, such as supporting their party; scrutinizing government; representing and furthering the interests of their constituency and constituents; contributing to policy development; and promotion of public understanding.

16. Select Committees

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kelso
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Membership Committee ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Committee Work ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Uk

This chapter examines the role of select committees in the UK Parliament, and more specifically how they enable lawmakers in the House of Commons to pool their scrutiny efforts by working together as a formally constituted team. Select committees are cross-party, with membership restricted to backbench Members of Parliament (MPs) and reflecting the party balance in the House. These committees determine their own work agendas and decide for themselves which topics to investigate. Committee work is structured around running focused inquiries into specific issues, ranging from antisemitism to foster care. The chapter first considers the effectiveness of select committees before discussing some major developments that the departmental select committee system has undergone over the last four decades with regard to elected committee chairs and membership, committee activity, addressing highly controversial topics, and developing policy expertise.

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