Parliamentary & legislative practice – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Thu, 11 Sep 2025 08:35:39 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png Parliamentary & legislative practice – The Bell Bookshop https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 Battles at the ballot https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/battles-at-the-ballot/ Thu, 08 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=48386 The never-told-before history of WWI's home front, when a party truce opened up 29 by-elections to a hotchpotch of failing politicians, idealists, single-issue fanatics, and chancers. Foreword by John Curtice.

]]> As World War One broke out in 1914, the main British political parties agreed a truce for Westminster by-elections: they would allow whoever was the incumbent to win. But the public disagreed and 23 by-elections provided a platform for a motley crew of independents. Among them mainstream politicians, failing politicians, party loyalists, idealists, single-issue fanatics, chancers, and no-hopers.

The casus belli for these independents changed as the war progressed, or didn’t, and as issues rose and fell in public significance. Consequently, the contests provide a fascinating insight for a 20thC readership into the priorities and concerns of the home front during WW1, such as:

  • the poor quality of Britain’s air defences
  • splits within the Labour movement over the war
  • opposition to restrictions on alcohol
  • controversy about the conscription of married men
  • dissatisfaction with support for discharged servicemen
  • calls for ever harsher treatment of ‘aliens’
  • discontent at the perceived failure to pursue the war vigorously

Battles at the Ballots is an authoritative and highly engaging look at a little-known slice of British parliamentary and political history, suitable for both the general trade market and an academic audience. It comes with an 8-page colour plate, a full list of election results, footnotes and endnotes. Detailed coverage of 23 by-elections will appeal to those interested in local history in London, South Wales, Scotland, the North-East, Yorkshire, and elsewhere.

]]> Held in Contempt https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/held-in-contempt/ Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=21724 Parliament, and the House of Commons in particular, is increasingly held in contempt by the British public. From attending parties during the Covid-19 lockdown to taking payment for lobbying, MPs undermine their credibility by acting as if the rules they set for others should not apply to them. Still far from representative of the country they govern from the ancient and crumbling Palace of Westminster, MPs appear detached from the lives led by their constituents – conducting their business according to rules and procedures that have become too complex for many of them to understand. Hannah White offers a perceptive critique of the shortcomings of the House of Commons, arguing that the reputation of the Commons is in a downward spiral – compounded by government attempts to side-line parliament during Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. At a time of populist challenge to representative democracy, this book is an essential rallying cry for Members of Parliament to reform the House of Commons – equipping it to fulfil its important role as a cornerstone of our democracy – or see it fade into irrelevance.

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