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Outputs (33)

Is the Westminster System of Government Alive and Well? (2022)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2022). Is the Westminster System of Government Alive and Well?. Journal of international and comparative law, 9(1), 1-24

The Westminster system of government is one of the principal forms of government in the democratic world, yet it has been subject to myriad definitions or, with a meaning taken as given, considered by many commentators to be a diminishing phenomenon,... Read More about Is the Westminster System of Government Alive and Well?.

The Conservative Nation Redivivus? (2021)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2021). The Conservative Nation Redivivus?. The Political quarterly, 92(3), 420-427. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13007

This article addresses the relationship between Andrew Gamble's study of the Conservative nation and his more recent advocacy of a social democratic constitution. It argues that the former—the nature of the Conservative Party, mobilising support succ... Read More about The Conservative Nation Redivivus?.

Departmental Select Committees: The Reform of the Century? (2019)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2019). Departmental Select Committees: The Reform of the Century?. Parliamentary affairs, 72(4), 727-741. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsz043

A set of departmental select committees was agreed by the UK House of Commons in 1979 and has become a core feature of British parliamentary life. This introductory survey examines the genesis of the committees and the extent to which they constitute... Read More about Departmental Select Committees: The Reform of the Century?.

Post-legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament: adding value (2019)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2019). Post-legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament: adding value. Journal of Legislative Studies, 25(3), 340-357. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2019.1633778

Legislatures appoint committees for different purposes. Both Houses of the UK Parliament separate legislative committees from non-legislative, or select, committees. Each is unusual in that it utilises select committees to engage in post-legislative... Read More about Post-legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament: adding value.

Power behind the scenes: The importance of informal space in legislatures (2018)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2019). Power behind the scenes: The importance of informal space in legislatures. Parliamentary affairs, 72(2), 245-266. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsy018

Studies of legislatures focus on what happens in formal space, principally the chamber and committee rooms. Such studies are necessary, but not sufficient, for explaining behaviour within legislatures and its consequences. The use of space for member... Read More about Power behind the scenes: The importance of informal space in legislatures.

Legislatures and the courts: the importance of place (2017)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2017). Legislatures and the courts: the importance of place. Journal of international and comparative law, 4(2), 171-188

Institutions of the state are studied primarily in terms of behaviour, powers and outputs. Little attention has been paid to their location and how this affects relationships between them. This article examines the effects of location through a study... Read More about Legislatures and the courts: the importance of place.

A temporary occupant of no. 10? : prime ministerial succession in the event of the death of the incumbent (2016)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2016). A temporary occupant of no. 10? : prime ministerial succession in the event of the death of the incumbent. Public Law, 18-34

The Prime Minister in the United Kingdom is head of government. He is the sovereign’s principal minister, chair of the Cabinet, and the nation’s representative at various international gatherings, including the European Council, who holds the office... Read More about A temporary occupant of no. 10? : prime ministerial succession in the event of the death of the incumbent.

The fixed term Parliaments Act and votes of confidence (2015)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2016). The fixed term Parliaments Act and votes of confidence. Parliamentary affairs, 69(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsv003

The Government in the UK rests for its continuation in office on the confidence of the House of Commons. Until 2011, it was a convention of the constitution that a Government defeated on a motion of confidence resigned or requested the dissolution of... Read More about The fixed term Parliaments Act and votes of confidence.

A democratic dialogue? Parliament and human rights in the United Kingdom (2013)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2013). A democratic dialogue? Parliament and human rights in the United Kingdom. Asia Pacific Law Review, 21(2), 141-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/10192557.2013.11788271

© LexisNexis, 2013. The protection of human rights is an inherent feature of a liberaldemocracy, but there is the potential for conflict between the legislature as the representative body of the people and the courts as the interpreters of the laws p... Read More about A democratic dialogue? Parliament and human rights in the United Kingdom.

Resisting the Inevitable? The Parliament Act 1911 (2012)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2012). Resisting the Inevitable? The Parliament Act 1911. Parliamentary History, 31(3), 444-459. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-0206.2012.00350.x

The Parliament Act 1911, limiting the veto power of the house of lords, constitutes a major piece of constitutional legislation in the United Kingdom. The vulnerability of the house of lords to major change was long-standing and to be found in the ac... Read More about Resisting the Inevitable? The Parliament Act 1911.

Parliament and Citizens in the United Kingdom (2012)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2012). Parliament and Citizens in the United Kingdom. Journal of Legislative Studies, 18(3-4), 403-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2012.706053

The relationship that has developed between Parliament and citizen in the United Kingdom has been two-way and multi-faceted. This article examines the input achieved by citizen (as voter, constituent, and member of organised interest) through party,... Read More about Parliament and Citizens in the United Kingdom.

Effective Capacity Building: The Capacity to Do What? (2012)
Journal Article
Lord Norton of Louth, P. (2012). Effective Capacity Building: The Capacity to Do What?. Parliamentary affairs, 65(3), 520-528. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss015

This volume addresses an important subject, one that is too often neglected in the scholarly study of legislatures. I begin by addressing the premise of the volume: that is, that capacity building matters. Why does it matter? It matters because legis... Read More about Effective Capacity Building: The Capacity to Do What?.

Speaking for the people: a conservative narrative of democracy (2012)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2012). Speaking for the people: a conservative narrative of democracy. Policy studies : the journal of the Policy Studies Institute, 33(2), 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2011.637328

A Conservative accepts that democracy entails government by and (especially) for the people, but what constitutes the people is seen not in narrow but in expansive terms: the people are not confined to those who constitute a present transient majorit... Read More about Speaking for the people: a conservative narrative of democracy.

Divided loyalties: The European Communities Act 1972 (2011)
Journal Article
Lord Norton of Louth, P. (2011). Divided loyalties: The European Communities Act 1972. Parliamentary History, 30(1), 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-0206.2010.00242.x

UK membership of the European Communities (EC) was prompted by economic and political factors. It represented a novel constitutional departure; one that was contested. The proposal for membership created divisions between, and within, both main parti... Read More about Divided loyalties: The European Communities Act 1972.

Introduction: A century of change (2011)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2011). Introduction: A century of change. Parliamentary History, 30(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-0206.2010.00240.x

With the United Kingdom lacking a codified constitution, there has been no extraordinary formal mechanism for amending the provisions of the constitution. Change has been achieved through parliament. The century since the passage of the Parliament Ac... Read More about Introduction: A century of change.

Parliamentary placements: the benefits and challenges (2008)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2008). Parliamentary placements: the benefits and challenges. Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11120/elss.2008.01010004

I have been running placement schemes at the House of Commons now for two decades. One entails spending the third year of a four year degree (in British Politics and Legislative Studies, BPLS) on placement with an MP. Another, a more recent scheme, e... Read More about Parliamentary placements: the benefits and challenges.

Four models of political representation: British MPs and the use of ICT (2007)
Journal Article
Norton, P. (2007). Four models of political representation: British MPs and the use of ICT. Journal of Legislative Studies, 13(3), 354-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572330701500771

This paper tests four models of political representation in the UK Parliament: the traditional, party, representative and tribune. Each involves a different usage of the Internet in order to fulfil a particular role. A rational choice approach emphas... Read More about Four models of political representation: British MPs and the use of ICT.