Pre-requisite module: EU9287 British Politics since 1945

This Module examines how Parliaments and legislatures operate, in terms both of formal rules and procedures, and informal processes and relationships derived from cultures, practices and traditions. The main focus will be on the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the National Assembly for Wales, but students will also be encouraged to place these institutions in a wider comparative context whenever possible.

Parliamentary Studies will provide a detailed analysis of the functions, operation and roles of the UK Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, both in theory and in practice. Among the issues addressed will be the relationship between the UK Parliament and the ‘core executive’; the legislative process; the role and operation of Departmental select committees; the roles and responsibilities of MPs; the ongoing debates about reform of the House of Lords; the operation of the Welsh Assembly, and its relationship with Westminster.   

• Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and procedures of the UK Parliament, and the Welsh Assembly.
• Critically evaluate empirical studies of legislative behaviour, such as the voting behaviour of MPs, peers and WAMs.
• Utilise conceptual models and theoretical accounts of legislative-executive relationships, and associated debates about accountability, power and responsibility.
• Display a scholarly awareness of the academic literature on legislatures and Parliaments, and evaluate their utility in explaining key empirical developments or challenging ‘self-evident truths’.

Two lectures per week and fortnightly seminars.

Information retrieval. Interpretation of empirical data. Utilisation of primary and secondary sources; Critical evaluation of theoretical perspectives. Application of concepts to key developments. Evaluating intellectual arguments for and against key propositions. Identifying the factors and variables shaping parliamentary behaviour and procedures.   

Role and functions of legislatures; the House of Commons and the House of Lords – respective functions and activities, and the relationship between them; the relationship between the UK (Westminster) Parliament and the (core) executive; the roles and activities of MPs; House of Lords reform; the role and functions of the Welsh Assembly; the Welsh Assembly’s relationship with Westminster and Whitehall.

Peter Dorey & Alexandra Kelso: House of Lords Reform since 1911.

Michael Gallagher, Michael Laver & Peter Mair: Representative Government in Modern Europe 5^th edition.

Philip Norton: Parliament in British Politics.

Robert Rogers & Rhodri Walters: How Parliament Works 5^th edition.

Michael Rush: The Role of the Member of Parliament since 1868.

Donald Shell: The House of Lords.