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On verso of t.-p.: 2d edition. ; Mode of access: Internet.

AbstractThis essay explores the significance of the Elizabethan house of commons meeting in a converted royal chapel within the Palace of Westminster. In 1548 the dissolved collegiate chapel of St Stephen at Westminster was given over to the exclusive use of the Commons, providing MPs with a dedicated meeting space for the first time. Although a great deal has been written about Elizabethan parliaments, little attention has been paid to the physical spaces within which MPs gathered, debated and legislated. Drawing on parliamentary diaries and exchequer records and informed by digital reconstructions of the Commons chamber modelled by the St Stephen's Chapel project at the University of York, this essay argues for the enduring influence of the architecture and decoration of the medieval chapel on the procedure, culture, ritual, and self‐awareness of the Elizabethan house of commons. Famously likened to a theatre by the MP and writer on parliamentary procedure, John Hooker, the Commons chamber is analysed as a space in which parliamentary speeches were performed and disrupted. The sound of debate is contrasted with other kinds of noise including scoffing and laughter, disruptive coughing, and prayers led by the clerk and the Speaker of the Commons. The iconography of the chamber, including the royal arms above the Speaker's chair and the mace carried by the serjeant‐at‐arms, is interpreted as enabling a culture of counsel and debate as much as an assertion of monarchical power. Evidence is also presented for the Commons chamber as a site of political memory.

The research note examines levels of intra-party cohesion during free voting on abortion, euthanasia and same-sex civil partnerships and marriage in the lower houses of four Westminster-style parliaments: Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. In fre

One of the key defining features of Westminster-type democracies is the acknowledgement of an official Opposition and a Leader of the Opposition typically referred to as a 'prime minister in waiting'. This article focuses on this crucial element of Westminster democracy and applies a gender perspective, looking into women Leaders of the Opposition in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia (1975–2022). As this inquiry reveals, there have been few and mostly short-lived women Leaders of the Opposition. Further, contrary to plausible assumptions, there have been more women Leaders of the Opposition from conservative than from left-wing parties. In particular, however, the office of Leader of the Opposition has, with few exceptions, not proven to be a springboard to the premiership. In fact, a majority of women prime ministers were 'takeover prime ministers', inheriting the office from a predecessor from their own party, rather than former Leaders of the Opposition, while many women Leaders of the Opposition were not even given the opportunity to lead their party into a national election campaign. The article discusses possible explanations for these patterns.

Beyond Westminster and Whitehall provides the first comprehensive account of the range of sub-central government institutions that are responsible for the delivery of services to citizens. These bodies are the warp and weft of the British system of government and yet are all too frequently ignored. For a full understanding of British government, the study of sub-central government is of equivalent importance to that of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and Parliament

This article examines the reasons behind the low turnout in Scotland in the 2001 UK general election. While turnout was uniformly low across GB, a number of Scottish-specific factors could potentially explain what happened north of the border. We start by investigating the extent to which Westminster is still thought to matter in Scotland. This is followed by a discussion of attitudes towards devolution itself. The final part looks at whether devolution has failed to stem a growing voter disinterest in elections that is to be found both north & south of the border. The importance of Westminster has by no means diminished with the advent of devolution, & while there is considerable unease about the parliament's performance this is not found to have an impact on turnout. Therefore we conclude that devolution has not acted as a buffer to the British malaise that existed at the 2001 general election & that Scottish politics is still very much affected by UK-wide influences. 15 Tables, 9 References. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract Territorial representation, the representation of local entities in the Westminster Parliament, lies at the heart of British democracy. In the recent academic debate, it has been asked whether local representation also needs a local representative and which specific characteristics would constitute 'localness' in this context. Investigating the biographies of 1108 Westminster MPs between 2010 and 2019 and exploring different dimensions of local base, this study examines the extent to which the demand for a local representative is actually fulfilled in the British Parliament. We discover a slow yet stable increase in the descriptive representation of the local (DRL) over time as well as notable variations across party and regions, especially among the constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Applying a genuine territorial perspective to our results, we link the detected DRL increase to the general territorialisation of politics in the UK. The fact that the political divergence of its constituent parts affects even the implementation of a core principle of British democracy is finally depicted as another indicator of the deep territorial divisions pervading British politics.

AbstractTerritorial representation, the representation of local entities in the Westminster Parliament, lies at the heart of British democracy. In the recent academic debate, it has been asked whether local representation also needs a local representative and which specific characteristics would constitute 'localness' in this context. Investigating the biographies of 1108 Westminster MPs between 2010 and 2019 and exploring different dimensions of local base, this study examines the extent to which the demand for a local representative is actually fulfilled in the British Parliament. We discover a slow yet stable increase in the descriptive representation of the local (DRL) over time as well as notable variations across party and regions, especially among the constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Applying a genuine territorial perspective to our results, we link the detected DRL increase to the general territorialisation of politics in the UK. The fact that the political divergence of its constituent parts affects even the implementation of a core principle of British democracy is finally depicted as another indicator of the deep territorial divisions pervading British politics.