Lords of the Blog

Every other year, wearing my hat as Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull,  I organise a  Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians.  Co-sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, it draws academics and parliamentarians from a wide range of countries.  It enables scholars to present research findings likely to be of practical interest to members of parliaments and for a dialogue between practitioners and scholars. 

The first Workshop was held in Berlin in 1994 and all subsequent Workshops at Wroxton College, in Oxfordshire, housed in a magnificent Jacobean mansion, the home of Lord North, Prime Minister under George III.  The Ninth Workshop was held at the weekend.  It proved an extremely productive occasion, with a good range of high quality papers.  I shall shortly provide more details of the papers on my own blog.

In opening the Workshop, I drew attention to the importance of studying legislatures.  Though they are rarely, despite their name, law-making bodies, they are significant as law-effecting bodies.   For law to be recognised as such, and to be enforced, it has to have the assent of the legislature.  The legislative process thus becomes important and can limit what the executive can achieve.   Legislatures also tend to fulfil functions that extend beyond the legislative process and as such can act as an important link between people and government.  Even in non-democratic systems, the legislature can and sometimes does fulfil functions beyond that of simply summarily approving whatever the regime lays before it.

I also emphasised the importance of comparative analysis.   There is a substantial literature on particular legislatures, not least the US Congress, but relatively little on legislatures as a particular species of institution.  Comparative analysis is important if we are move beyond description in respect of any particular legislature.  We only properly understand our own legislature by reference to others.  I am amazed at times by how people generalise or make assumptions about Parliament, not least the House of Lords, without having any knowledge of what happens elsewhere.  Some people appear to think that the UK is exceptional in having an appointed second chamber.  We need to look elsewhere not only for the purpose of analysis but also for lesson-drawing.  If we are to contemplate change, it is highly inefficient to embark on it without examining whether it has been attempted elsewhere.   It is inefficient to devote time to inventing the wheel if someone else has done so already.  It is also valuable to look elsewhere in case change has been attempted and had unintended consequences.