Tag Archives: Parliament

Parliamentary Private Secretaries and the payroll vote under Boris Johnson

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Andrew Defty

The Government has published the latest list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS). I have written a number of previous posts about the role and particularly the rise in the number of Parliamentary Private Secretaries in recent years. I won’t repeat … Continue reading →

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Watching from the wings: the role of the PM’s PPS in a socially distanced House of Commons chamber

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Andrew Defty

It is clear that the Prime Minister is struggling in his the weekly encounter with the Leader of the Opposition at Prime Minister’s Questions. As the Prime Minister, somewhat bizarrely, keeps reminding us Keir Starmer is a former barrister who … Continue reading →

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Can the Independent Group of MPs survive?

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Andrew Defty

One of the consequences of Britain’s protracted and disorganised attempt to leave the European Union has been the decision of a group of MPs, seven Labour and three Conservative, to leave their parties and establish a new Independent Group in … Continue reading →

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How did the Government end up in contempt of Parliament?

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Andrew Defty

This post first appeared on the blog of the Political Studies Association Parliaments Group on 10 December 2018. The Government has found itself in the unprecedented position of being in contempt of Parliament. The immediate cause of the contempt motion … Continue reading →

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The pastoral role of the Party Whips

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Andrew Defty

This post first appeared on the PSA Parliaments Group blog on 7 November 2018. In a recent interview in The Sunday Times, the Conservative MP, Andrew Griffiths, discussed the circumstances which led him to send a series of sexually explicit … Continue reading →

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