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MPs Go Back to Their Constituencies
Author(s) -
GAY OONAGH
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-923x.2005.00656.x
Subject(s) - dissent , parliament , devolution (biology) , political science , process (computing) , public relations , public administration , focus (optics) , law , sociology , politics , computer science , physics , optics , anthropology , human evolution , operating system
The growth of the constituency role of MPs has been well documented since the 1960s, in particular the focus on casework. There are clear conventions that MPs should represent all their constituents and should not purport to represent other constituencies. Recent research indicates that these rules are under strain with the advent of devolution and the use of IT such as databases, emails and blogs. More generous allowances enable MPs to employ greater numbers of personal staff to process constituency casework. Parties favour this development, as simultaneously assisting with the permanent campaign and removing potential dissent from Parliament. The incumbency effect is now evident, as MPs believe that assiduous attention to constituents can save their seats. Parliaments are under pressure to improve the capacity of their members, but also to avoid inappropriate use of funds to influence the outcome of elections.