Tag Archives: PMQs

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Watching from the wings: the role of the PM’s PPS in a socially distanced House of Commons chamber

In praise of the PM’s Parliamentary Private Secretary

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Andrew Defty

I have become transfixed by Prime Minister’s Questions, but not by the weekly joust between the PM and the Leader of the Opposition. I am fascinated, instead, by what is going on just over the Prime Minister’s right shoulder. The MP sitting just behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on In praise of the PM’s Parliamentary Private Secretary

Irrelevant questions undermine the value of PMQs

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Andrew Defty

This post first appeared on the blog of the Parliaments and Legislatures study group of the UK Political Studies Association. The weekly Prime Minister’s Questions is undoubtedly an important mechanism for holding the government to account. The requirement that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Irrelevant questions undermine the value of PMQs

Ed Balls and a defence of sledging at PMQs

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Andrew Defty

Prime Minister’s Questions is one of the most extraordinary Parliamentary spectacles at Westminster, if not the world. Every week, while Parliament is sitting, the Prime Minister must come to Parliament and subject themselves to thirty minutes, (in recent times quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Ed Balls and a defence of sledging at PMQs