Parliamentary Questions, the Behaviour of Legislators, and the Function of Legislatures: An Introduction

Martin, Shane

doi:10.1080/13572334.2011.595120

Cited by 111 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Research on parliamentary questions itself is rather young (Martin 2011) and the role of evaluation in it is even younger. Although the research on the cases varied due to different documentary systems for screening written questions, we can conclude with some observations and reflections from a comparative perspective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The growing role of evaluation in parliaments: holding governments accountable?

Speer

Pattyn

Peuter

2015

International Review of Administrative Sciences

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To date, the role of evaluation in parliaments has merely been analyzed. This surprises as members of parliament are stakeholders 'par excellence', who could have an interest in evaluation. But do they? Via a systematic analysis of written questions and interpellations in Germany and Flanders we investigate MPs attention for evaluations. The following aspects are analyzed, from a comparative perspective: the content of questions on evaluation, the political profile of the MPs posing the questions, the share of questions on evaluation, and the distribution of questions over political parties, policy areas and over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The growing role of evaluation in parliaments: holding governments accountable?

Speer

Pattyn

Peuter

2015

International Review of Administrative Sciences

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“…Our analyses demonstrate that PMQs are an outlet for the opposition and backbench opposition MPs (King 1976) allowing them to put pressure on the government to respond to issues they might rather avoid. As such we throw more light into the practice and impact of questioning, adding to recent work on legislatures (Bates et al, 2012;Martin 2012). …”

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confidence: 99%

Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

Bevan¹,

John

2015

Gov. & oppos.

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This paper demonstrates how party leaders (frontbenchers) and backbenchers use their access to UK Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) to represent the policy agenda. Building on comparative research on parliamentary questions and agenda-setting as well as taking account of the particular context of PMQs, we argue that party leaders and followers draw attention to different kinds of policy topics with the express purpose of influencing the government. Based on a content analysis of over 9,000 questions between 1997 and 2008, our analysis demonstrates how the posing of questions affects subsequent agenda, varying according to whether questions come from the front or backbench, from government and opposition and from different parties. The findings demonstrate that PMQs helps both the opposition and backbenchers draw attention to issues that the government and opposition party leadership does not always wish to attend to. UK Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is potentially one of the most important means for the opposition to challenge the government on the major issues of the day.During PMQs opposition Members of Parliament put questions to the prime minister in full view of the public and expect well-briefed answers in return. However, the value and the purpose of PMQs has increasingly been called into question by recent research (for a summary see Bates et al, 2012) and even internal government debates (see UK Parliament, 1996) contain comments about the shallowness and shortcomings of PMQs.As it currently stands PMQs is widely believed to show off the rhetorical skills of the leaders of the main political parties attracting the attention of the media rather than to hold the government of the day to account.Even though there is a theatrical aspect to PMQs, we argue that the practice can still ensure the government addresses concerns that it might not otherwise wish to talk about and therefore is an important venue for ensuring accountability and responsiveness.As a result of the topics stressed in PMQs, the government has to confront the difficult issues of the day, which can advantage the opposition by putting the government on the defensive regardless of the completeness of the government's answers. Due to these efforts, the party or parties in control of government respond to other parliamentarian and To advance this argument, the paper first briefly outlines the procedure of PMQs for the period of our analyses (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) followed by a review of the literature on agenda-setting through parliamentary questions. The paper then describes the data and methods used, before reporting the findings from graphical and statistical analyses. The conclusions draw out implications for the study of parliamentary representation. What are Prime Minister's Questions?Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is a parliamentary convention whereby the prime minister answers questions in the House of Commons from Members of Parliament (including the leader(s) of the oppo...

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“…Secondly, MPs can use questions to make the government report on its activities, and can thus monitor the government. In addition, questions can fulfill a representative function, when MPs use them to enquire about local or regional issues (Martin, 2011). Finally, questions could be used to achieve the government's commitment to a certain negotiating position.…”

Section: A Distinct Role For Regional Parliaments?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conclusion: regional parliaments – a distinct role in the EU?

Högenauer

Abels

2017

The Journal of Legislative Studies

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This is the author pre-print version. The final version has been published in the Journal of Legislative Studies, Vol. 23, issue 2 Abstract:Regional parliaments can today try to shape EU policy-making via a range of domestic and European channels. In the context of a renewed interest in the subnational level, this article aims to address three core questions: Have regional parliaments really been empowered by the EWS provisions?Which factors explain differences in strength and mobilization? Finally, what kind of a role do regional parliaments play in EU policy-making today, now that they have had several years to react to the trend towards multi-level parliamentarism? The article argues that regional parliaments do indeed have the potential to contribute a distinct perspective to EU policy-making, even if their current level of activity is still low. It distinguishes six particularly important factors contributing to the empowerment and mobilization of regional parliaments: whether the new powers are formally protected, the previous constitutional strength of the regional parliament, the absence of second chambers that represent regional governments, good executive-legislative cooperation, resources and experience.

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Parliamentary Questions, the Behaviour of Legislators, and the Function of Legislatures: An Introduction

Cited by 111 publications

References 22 publications

The growing role of evaluation in parliaments: holding governments accountable?

The growing role of evaluation in parliaments: holding governments accountable?

Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

Conclusion: regional parliaments – a distinct role in the EU?

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