The following sample answer demonstrates how to write an exam essay about parliamentary scrutiny, on the topic of urgent questions. This relates to Emma Kilheeney’s article on pp. 6–9
Urgent questions have become one of the most useful tools for backbenchers to hold the government to account over its Brexit policy. In January 2019, the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, was able to ask an urgent question criticising prime minister Theresa May’s failure to publish a timetable for meaningful votes on her Brexit deal. This question put pressure on the government to do so. Similarly in March 2019 Conservative backbench MP John Baron questioned Chris Heaton-Harris, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for exiting the European Union, about government preparations for a no-deal Brexit. This question raised the concerns of many about the possibility of no deal and put pressure on the government to either pledge not to leave the EU without a deal or to have an effective plan in place.
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