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    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs

    A journal of representative democracy

    Latest issue

    Established in 1947, Parliamentary Affairs is the Hansard Society’s quarterly journal, covering all aspects of representation and politics connected to parliaments and legislatures in the UK and around the world. The journal is published in partnership with Oxford University Press.

    Parliamentary Affairs blog

     Select committee panel (blurred)
    blog / journal / 08.11.19

    Select Committee development and reform: turning points over 40 years

    Select committee reform over the last 40 years has been a stop-go process. Here, the Clerk of the Liaison Committee during its recent 40th anniversary inquiry traces the phases in the story and identifies the set of factors that seem to work for or against reform each time.

    Select Committee development and reform: turning points over 40 years
    Foreign Affairs select committee holds session
    blog / journal / 08.11.19

    Select Committees 40 years on: wider still and wider may their bounds be set?

    A former Clerk of several House of Commons select committees looks back over 30 years at how the tempo of their work has changed, and asks whether the increase in their resources and activities can or should continue indefinitely.

    Select Committees 40 years on: wider still and wider may their bounds be set?
    Theresa May, Liaison Committee session, House of Commons
    blog / journal / 23.09.19

    The 2019 Liaison Committee report on the Commons select committee system: broadening the church, integrating with the Chamber

    In its recent landmark report, the House of Commons Liaison Committee recommended a widening of the circle of those that select committees should hold to account, and a turn towards the public in all committee activity, but also tighter links between select committees and the House of Commons Chamber.

    The 2019 Liaison Committee report on the Commons select committee system: broadening the church, integrating with the Chamber
    40th Anniversary of the creation of Departmental Select Committees
    blog / journal / 01.07.19

    The increased stature of select committees and their chairs: reflections by Harriet Harman MP

    On the 40th anniversary of the creation of departmental select committees, Harriet Harman, the longest continuously-serving woman MP, offers some personal reflections on the growing importance of select committees and their chairs, particularly at a time of considerable political instability.

    The increased stature of select committees and their chairs: reflections by Harriet Harman MP
    Canadian Parliament
    blog / journal / 06.08.18

    Canada’s ‘amateur’ MPs

    In Canada, the ‘professional politician’ remains the exception rather than the rule, and MPs with prior political experience don’t have an advantage in the development of their parliamentary careers.

    Canada’s ‘amateur’ MPs
    Britain Votes 2017 panel
    blog / journal / 22.03.18

    Twitter highlights from the launch of ‘Britain Votes 2017’

    To mark the launch of ‘Britain Votes 2017’, the first major study of the 2017 general election, five of the book’s contributors - including polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice - outlined their findings at an event on 20 March at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Here are the evening’s top tweets.

    Twitter highlights from the launch of ‘Britain Votes 2017’
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    Marking 40 years of departmental select committees

    Senior House of Commons officials and leading academics explore the past, present and future of one of the most significant reforms to the UK Parliament, in this October 2019 special issue of Parliamentary Affairs.

    Explore the issue
    A blurred image of a select committee panel.
    Panel anchor

    About this special issue

    About this special issue

    In 1979, the UK House of Commons approved the appointment of 12 select committees “to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the principal government departments”.

    Forty years on, the select committee system in the House of Commons has evolved to become one of the key features of our parliamentary democracy, spreading its scrutiny into public life beyond Whitehall, and widening the channels of engagement with Parliament and its Members.

    To mark the 40th anniversary of the creation of the first departmental select committees in June – and of the nominations of their inaugural members in November – this special issue of Parliamentary Affairs brings together leading researchers and practitioners, with experience at the forefront of the select committee system, to analyse and explore the past, present and future of one of the major reforms in UK parliamentary history.

    Panel anchor

    About Parliamentary Affairs

    About Parliamentary Affairs

    Established in 1947, Parliamentary Affairs is a leading, peer-reviewed journal with a distinguished record of linking the theory and conduct of parliament and politics.

    The journal offers rigorous and readable examinations of a wide range of parliaments and political processes, by authors from across the globe, on subjects which are both of academic interest and relevant to current policy debates.

    Quick facts

    • Impact factor: 1.798
    • Global impact factor: 1.636
    • Editors: Professors Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Jonathan Tonge
    Subscription options

    Subscribe to Parliamentary Affairs

    Get cutting-edge research on the Westminster Parliament and other legislatures in the UK and around the world, in print and online, from one of the world's leading political science journals.

    Subscription options
    Graphic Palace of Westminster, UK Houses of Parliament

    Editions (2018-present)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs (vol 73, issue 3, 2020)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs (vol 73, issue 2, 2020)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs (vol 73, issue 1, 2020)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs: special issue on '40 years of departmental select committees in the House of Commons' (vol 72, issue 4, 2019)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs (vol 72, issue 3, 2019)

    Houses of Parliament aerial view
    journal

    Parliamentary Affairs: special issue on 'Disunity in Parliament' (vol 72, issue 2, 2019)

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    The editors

    The editors

    Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira

    Cristina Leston-Bandeira is Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds, Co-Director of the University’s Centre for Democratic Engagement, and Chair of the UK Study of Parliament Group. Cristina’s work focuses on parliaments and public engagement. She was one of eight members of the Commission on Digital Democracy set up by the former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

    Professor Jonathan Tonge

    Jonathan Tonge is Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool. He has authored and edited numerous books on UK political parties, elections, and the politics of Northern Ireland, has co-edited Parliamentary Affairs since 2012, and is a former Chair of the Political Studies Association.

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