TY - JOUR
T1 - The shifting landscape of prime ministerial accountability to parliament
T2 - An analysis of Liaison Committee scrutiny sessions
AU - Kelso, Anne
AU - Bennister, Mark
AU - Larkin, Phil
PY - 2016/8
Y1 - 2016/8
N2 - Prime ministerial power is always contingent, based on the utilisation of personal and institutional resources, subject to various formal and informal constraints. Parliament is both a political resource to be utilised, but also a veto-player. In the absence of formal mechanisms setting out the requirements for the UK prime ministerial accountability to parliament, a fluid and essentially personalised relationship has developed. Regular prime ministerial appearances before the House of Commons Liaison Committee, begun in 2002, have added to parliament’s scrutiny toolkit. This article considers the accountability of the prime minister to parliament by analysing the emergence and development of the Liaison Committee evidence sessions, and draws on interviews with participants and examination of the session transcripts, in order to assess the value of this scrutiny mechanism within the broader framework of prime ministerial-legislative relations.
AB - Prime ministerial power is always contingent, based on the utilisation of personal and institutional resources, subject to various formal and informal constraints. Parliament is both a political resource to be utilised, but also a veto-player. In the absence of formal mechanisms setting out the requirements for the UK prime ministerial accountability to parliament, a fluid and essentially personalised relationship has developed. Regular prime ministerial appearances before the House of Commons Liaison Committee, begun in 2002, have added to parliament’s scrutiny toolkit. This article considers the accountability of the prime minister to parliament by analysing the emergence and development of the Liaison Committee evidence sessions, and draws on interviews with participants and examination of the session transcripts, in order to assess the value of this scrutiny mechanism within the broader framework of prime ministerial-legislative relations.
KW - Liaison Committee
KW - UK parliament
KW - executive scrutiny
KW - prime minister
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978835967&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/shifting-landscape-prime-ministerial-accountability-parliament-analysis-liaison-committee-scrutiny-s
U2 - 10.1177/1369148116633438
DO - 10.1177/1369148116633438
M3 - Article
SN - 1369-1481
VL - 18
SP - 740
EP - 754
JO - The British Journal of Politics and International Relations
JF - The British Journal of Politics and International Relations
IS - 3
ER -