Very pleased to see our article on backbench roles in the HoC published in @hansardsociety.bsky.social Parliamentary Affairs.
@carolinebha.bsky.social @socialpolicy.bsky.social & I group MPs by activity across 26 measures, identifying 7 roles.
It's free to read!
academic.oup.com/pa/advance-a...
The Backbench Business Committee 15 years on: has it given backbench MPs a stronger voice in the House of Commons? from yours truly with @louisevthompson.bsky.social for the @hansardsociety.bsky.social : www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blog/backben...
How will the 2026 Senedd election change Welsh politics?
On Thursday join @jessblair.bsky.social, @lauramcallister30.bsky.social and @paulsilk.bsky.social to discuss the Senedd's possible makeup, new voting system and expansion.
Sign up for this free, online event ๐ www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....
Remembering David Judge (1950 - 2026). I first met David in 1999. He was such an incredible person, we could do with more Davids in academia. Here is something I wrote when I heard the news last week, published by @psa-parliaments.bsky.social: psaparliaments.org/2026/02/17/r...
๐Four UQs is a very rare record number of UQs in a single day, if we look at numbers since 1997 (particularly since the revival of UQs after 2010). The last time this happened was on 25 Oct 2021.
Three UQs in one day occurred most recently on 5 Jan, and this has happened eight times this session.
This was a great discussion of how the House of Commons could manage multi-party politics, and it is now available as a video!
Bonus: @louisevthompson.bsky.socialโs cat in the background! ๐
๐The Commons Procedure Committee is conducting an inquiry on Written Parliamentary Questions. Read evidence from colleagues at the link below โฌ๏ธ
@stephenholdenbates.bsky.social @carolinebha.bsky.social & Stephen McKay - WPQs use over time
@ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social - WPQs procedures comparatively
๐The Commons Procedure Committee is conducting an inquiry on Written Parliamentary Questions. Read evidence from colleagues at the link below โฌ๏ธ
@stephenholdenbates.bsky.social @carolinebha.bsky.social & Stephen McKay - WPQs use over time
@ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social - WPQs procedures comparatively
Does the House of Commons need to change to reflect a more fragmented politics?
On 19 January, join @elliechowns.bsky.social, @courtenayilbert.bsky.social and @louisevthompson.bsky.social to discuss smaller parties in the Commons at our free, online event.
Sign up ๐ www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....
So because everything can be a ~ teachable moment ~ if you're nerdy enough, let's learn about Speaker Denison's rule-- a convention established in the nineteenth by (you guessed it) a Speaker of the Commons called John Denison.
โ๏ธ Jessica Benton Cooney from Inter Pares writes about the fantastic Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments, developed by PSA Parliaments stalwart
@estrangeirada.bsky.social
& Juliet Ollard (International Parliament Engagement Network).
๐ Read it here: bit.ly/48mNlPW
๐ Thank you so much from the PSA Parliaments committee to everyone who contributed and attended!
๐ Introducing you to our soon-to-be Co-Convenor @rickwhitaker.bsky.socialโฆ
๐ซก Thatโs us all signing off for 2025!
๐ค See you in the New Year!
#PSAParl25
The conference was not recorded but look out for blogs from our panellists about their presentations on our website!
psaparliaments.org
๐ We were delighted to announce at the conference that our very own
Lauren Martin passed her PhD viva!! A huge congratulations to Dr Martin!
๐ธ Here she is with her external examinerโthe wonderful @estrangeirada.bsky.social!
@psa-parliaments.bsky.social thank you to the convenors of the group, especially a big shout-out to @gracecooper1.bsky.social for organising both the venue and the events over the two days!
Our Parliaments Specialist Group's annual conference has come to a close!
Thank you to all that came and everyone who contributed to the discussions during the panels and the events.
โจ @juliennavarro.bsky.social from @univcatholille.bsky.social is wrapping up our conference with his presentation on the electoral payoff for parliamentary performance in France ๐ซ๐ท
#PSAParl25
๐ฃ๏ธ Alex Prior is now speaking to his paper on theatricality and visibility in the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk
#PSAParl25
โก๏ธ @ewanrobo.bsky.social from @uoe-sps.bsky.social is now presenting his paper on stakeholder patterns in committees of the Spanish and Catalan parliaments
๐ฅ Ewan works within the SPARK project: www.project-spark.net
#PSAParl25
๐ฃ๏ธ Our final panel is up now looking at Knowledge and Legislative Performance in parliaments
๐ค @marcgeddes.uk from @uoe-sps.bsky.social is up first, critically reviewing parliaments and the role of knowledge
#PSAParl25
๐ฃ๏ธ Our panel on Legislative Processes and Scrutiny is being rounded up by @jackliddall16.bsky.social from @cam.ac.uk with his research on scrutiny of intergovernmental relations in the UK ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
#PSAParl25
โจOur fourth paper on this panel, delivered by Methmini Wijesinghe, explores legislative scrutiny processes in Sri Lanka ๐ฑ๐ฐ
#PSAParl25
๐ฃ๏ธ Kubra Aslan from @york.ac.uk speaks to her research on opposition obstruction in Turkey ๐น๐ท
#PSAParl25
โจNow @lisajames.bsky.social from @ucl.ac.uk and @conunitucl.bsky.social is updating us on her research into Conservative governments and @houseoflords.parliament.uk defeats/compromise ๐ณ๏ธ
#PSAParl25
๐ Follow along with our third panel on Legislative Process and Scrutiny!
โก๏ธ First up is @parlcharlie.bsky.social telling us about Senate public bills in Canada ๐จ๐ฆ
#PSAParl25
๐ Congrats to Eliza, one of our Undergraduate Essay Prize winners from @uoe-sps.bsky.social!
Put forward for the prize by @marcgeddes.uk !
#PSAParl25
โNow the Q & A session for our Historical and Procedural Perspectives panelistsโ
Moderated by our Co-Convenor @ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social
#PSAParl25
๐ฃ๏ธ Our next presentation comes from Hoi Yu Ng who is looking at the impact of live broadcasting on parliamentary speeches, focusing on Singapore ๐ธ๐ฌ๐น
#PSAParl25
โก๏ธ Now Nimako Kuffour Anning from the Parliament of Ghana is presenting on the symbolic significance of the dispatch box ๐ฌ๐ญ
#PSAParl25
