This first book-length study of the socialisation of MPs uses questionnaire data gathered over two Parliaments (1992-97 and 1997-2001) to find out how MPs learn about, and what their attitudes are towards, their role as a Member of Parliament. It analyzes their participation in debates, the use of Parliamentary Questions and committee work.

This international comparative study of the Ombudsman institution began life in March 1994 when Philip Giddings and Roy Gregory formed the idea of producing a successor to Gerald Caiden's International Handbook of the Ombudsman [1983]. In the decade and a half since Caiden's volume was produced, there has been a considerable expansion of the number and variety of Ombudsman institutions. With the generous assistance of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences [IIAS] we were able to assemble a team of experts, containing academics and practitioners, public lawyers, political scientists and administrators, drawn from a wide range of states and reflecting many different systems, cultures and experiences. Most members of the team were able to meet at three IIAS-sponsored consultations held in Brussels in 1996, 1997 and 1998 at which we debated and refined our strategy and methodology and reflected upon our findings. From these meetings an agreed framework was drawn up for the reports to be included in this volume and those reports, together with thematic chapters on issues such as human rights and the new public management, form the heart of this book.

Contributors to this Hansard Society/Palgrave volume consider how British government and politics changed as Tony Blair gave way to Gordon Brown. "Gordon at the Helm" looks at a range of factors under Brown such as public opinion, party and opposition politics, British government and administration, public policy, local government and foreign policy.

Written by a team of leading experts, "The Palgrave Review of British Politics 2006" provides up-to-date coverage of developments in British government and politics. An indispensable reference book, it covers the entire political year and includes chapters on the constitution, government and administration, the law, Parliament, public policy, devolution, foreign policy, relations with the EU, local government, elections and public opinion, the party system, pressure politics, the media and democracy, plus a statistical appendix.

This book provides up-to-date coverage of developments in British government and politics written by a team of leading experts. An indispensable reference book, it covers the entire political year and includes chapters on the constitution, government and administration, the law, Parliament, public policy, devolution, foreign policy, relations with the EU, local government, elections and public opinion, the party system, pressure politics, the media and democracy, plus a statistical appendix.

How has Parliament changed since 1964 and how must it further evolve to meet the challenges of a new century in the light of devolution, a growing European Union and a post-modern culture? This collection of authoritative and lively essays to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Study of Parliament Group covers topics such as scrutinising the Government, making laws, guarding the citizenry, the new media and adapting to the world beyond Westminster.

The Palgrave Review of British Politics 2006 provides up-to-date coverage of developments in British government and politics written by a team of leading experts. This is an indispensable reference book covering the entire political year focussing on the key topics. It also includes a statistical appendix.

Written by the same team that produced "Westminster and Europe" [1996], this book reports and analyzes the major developments in the relationship between Britain and the European Union between the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty and the British General Election of 2001. "Britain in the European Union" focuses particularly on the EU's impact on parliamentary institutions in the UK and on law and policy in such controversial areas as employment and the social chapter, foreign and security policy, enlargement and governance, immigration and asylum and the single currency.

This first book-length study of the socialisation of MPs uses questionnaire data gathered over two Parliaments (1992-97 and 1997-2001) to find out how MPs learn about, and what their attitudes are towards, their role as a Member of Parliament. It analyzes their participation in debates, the use of Parliamentary Questions and committee work.