Category: Political Engagement

This ongoing project seeks to examine the various mechanisms by which the UK parliament has sought to scrutinise the intelligence agencies and the government’s use of intelligence. Existing studies of parliamentary scrutiny of intelligence within the UK have focused almost exclusively on the work of the Intelligence and Security Committee. While the work of the ISC…Continue Reading Parliament and the intelligence services: Watching the watchers

This research explores the Prime Minister’s appearances at the Liaison Committee. Mark Bennister was awarded a parliamentary fellowship in November 2016 to study these sessions. This study has focused on the functioning and effectiveness of the Liaison Committee sessions with the Prime Minister. These sessions have questioned four Prime Ministers since 2002 and provide a rich…Continue Reading The House of Commons Liaison Committee and the Prime Minister

This article argues that three types of factor – process, subject and political circumstance – are likely to affect the extent to which claims of evidence are made during legislative scrutiny. It draws upon case studies of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Academies Act 2010 and the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016,…Continue Reading Evidence-informed or value-based? exploring the scrutiny of legislation in the UK Parliament