The work of parliaments is crucial to democracy. It is about making parliaments more transparent, representative, responsive and better able to scrutinise the actions and legislation of governments.
These projects look at two different aspects of the work of parliament: the ways in which the Westminster parliament engages with the public (drawing on a procedural justice perspective); and the work of the Commons Liaison Committee in questioning the Prime Minister. These are new perspectives partly in their focus, but also because each project has been conducted from ‘inside’ parliament as an academic fellow.
The research suggests that much of Westminster’s work is underpinned by ideas that reflect ideas of procedural justice (a fair process), although there could be more shared learning across the institution. The Liaison Committee, containing Chairs of the select committees, could be more effective when questioning the Prime Minister.
The two projects demonstrate the possibilities for working with and within parliaments, and to some extent for influencing them, although there are challenges associated with such links.