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Crossman and Beyond: House of Commons Select Committees in the 1960s
Author(s) -
Aylett Philip
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
parliamentary history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.14
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1750-0206
pISSN - 0264-2824
DOI - 10.1111/1750-0206.12467
Subject(s) - house of commons , cabinet (room) , work (physics) , commons , public administration , select committee , sociology , political science , law , history , parliament , engineering , mechanical engineering , archaeology , politics
Abstract Assessments of the work and impact of house of commons investigatory select committees during the 1960s usually centre on the success or otherwise of the new ‘specialist’ committees established in the second half of the decade. This article uses both quantitative and qualitative evidence to give a more rounded picture, including both new and existing committees. It concludes that 1960s select committees were more popular, active and influential than has previously been appreciated. It also argues that there has been an overvaluation of the role of the Labour cabinet minister, Richard Crossman, in promoting and establishing these committees, and that support for committee work on both front benches and back benches was rather more widespread and substantial than has been assumed. In particular, the article contends that Harold Wilson's role in advancing the work of select committees has been underestimated.