In the twentieth century, the main public, media and academic view of Westminster was one of parliamentary decline. Parliament was described as increasingly sidelined and ineffectual, which has helped to fuel public disillusionment in politics and MPs. This was summed up by Paul Flynn, MP, who wrote in 2015 that ‘the great wealth of talent, intelligence and creativity in Parliament is largely wasted’. However, since 2010 have we seen the rise of the backbencher and the peer? In
Critics of the House of Commons point to the fact that defeats of government legislative proposals are extremely rare. This is down to the fact that due to the system of parliamentary government, the executive has a majority in the House of Commons, which is controlled effectively by strict party discipline.
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