PRIME MINISTERS AND THE COMMONS: PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR, 1868 TO 1987

Since 1868 nineteen Prime Ministers have answered parliamentary questions, made statements, given major speeches, and intervened in debates in the House of Commons. This article presents a comparative and quantitative analysis of PMS' behaviour patterns on these four dimensions. Key findings in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public administration (London) 1990-03, Vol.68 (1), p.123-139
Main Authors: DUNLEAVY, PATRICK, JONES, G. W., O'LEARY, BRENDAN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Behaviorism
Great Britain
History
House of Commons
Parliamentary procedure
Political psychology
Politicians
Prime Minister
Prime ministers
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Summary:Since 1868 nineteen Prime Ministers have answered parliamentary questions, made statements, given major speeches, and intervened in debates in the House of Commons. This article presents a comparative and quantitative analysis of PMS' behaviour patterns on these four dimensions. Key findings include: the importance of 1940 as the critical break between a traditional and a modem form of parliamentary activity, in which Prime Ministers make fewer contributions to Commons proceedings altogether, fewer speeches and far fewer interventions in debates than in the pre‐1940 period, but more statements; the emergence of question time as the absolutely dominant form of prime ministerial activity in the Commons, especially from the mid‐1970s onwards; and the distinctiveness of Thatcher's minimalist Commons activity, when set against other post‐1940 PMs.
ISSN:0033-3298
1467-9299
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9299.1990.tb00750.x