Each year, a question is usually tabled to find out the annual total costs, and the cost per member, of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the European Parliament. At the end of last month, the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury gave the costs as follows: HOUSE OF COMMONS Annual cost: £392m…
I organise a biennial international workshop of parliamentary scholars and parliamentarians. The latest – the tenth – was held at the weekend at Wroxton College in Oxfordshire. The panels covered a range of topics, including legislative adaptability, the relationship between parliaments and citizens, parliamentary scrutiny, and citizens’ expectations. A couple of the panels focused on…
The past week has been pretty hectic. The Lords has been busy getting on with the detailed scrutiny of legislation. However, peers have also been keenly interested in what has been going on in the Commons. Many have followed the proceedings on screen. Now that offices have TV screens, it is possible to get on…
Mark D’Arcy of BBC Parliament blogs that he thinks that it has been a good year for Parliament. One can see his argument. The chairs and members of select committees in the Commons are now elected, the committees have continued to be productive, and two have recently gained a high public profile because of the ‘phone-hacking…
This week sees the beginning of the long summer recess for both the Lords and Commons, but with the Lords working an extra day. This ought not be remarkable as long as events are proceeding in a normal way. But they are not. The Commons finish on Tuesday. For a small group of backbenchers who…
