Every select committee wants its say
Parliamentary scrutiny in the run up to the general election.
A relatively thin Queen’s speech last June had many speculating that a lacklustre “zombie parliament” lay in store for the 2014-2015 session. We thought it would be interesting to examine the data on select committee activity in the run up to the last general election to see whether the “zombie parliament” label is justified in relation to scrutiny.
With MPs returning to Westminster this week it is important to recognise that passing legislation is only one of their roles. As Britain’s fourth longest-serving Prime Minister William Gladstone is said to have reminded the House of Commons, “Honourable members are summoned to this place not to legislate or govern, but to be the constant critics of those who govern.” Parliament’s role is to scrutinise as well as to legislate. We’ve analysed the Commons select committee data from the House of Commons Sessional Returns published since the 2005-2006 session (when the current publication format was introduced). Commons select committees ramped up publications as the 2010 general election approached A cursory examination of the data might lead you to conclude the “zombie parliament” label could also have been used before the 2010 election. A key indicator of select committee activity is their reports—write-ups at the conclusion of an inquiry that detail conclusions and recommendations. When you look at the raw number of reports published per session, there was a clear drop-off in the number of select committee reports published during the 2009-2010 session as the general election loomed.
- Administration
- Cameron-Clegg coalition government
- Legislature
- House of Commons
- Publisher
- Institute for Government