Tag Archive for Backbench Business Committee

Petitioning Parliament

Lord Norton

At the Study of Parliament Group annual conference, held last weekend in Oxford, one of the subjects discussed was e-petitioning.  The system that has been introduced is proving somewhat dysfunctional: it raises expectations that cannot be met as well as exacerbating the tendency to confuse Government with Parliament.  People sign a petition on a government website…

Parliament and the public

Lord Norton

Over the past few decades, Parliament has become a much more open institution and has sought to enhance its links with citizens.  There is already a substantial flow of correspondence between constituents and MPs – and the volume has grown substantially in recent years – but there have been problems at the institutional level.  How…