UK Constitutional Law Association
“Parliament is not a congressof ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates” but rather “a deliberativeassembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole” (E. Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol, 3 November 1774). With these words, Edmund Burke conveyed a clear message to his electors on 3 November 1744: though chosen in a specific constituency, he was “not a member of Bristol”, but “a member of Parliament”. What does it mean, after the introduction of the EVEL procedure into the House of Commons, to be a Member of Parliament? Is there a risk that “different and hostile interests” will prevail upon “the interest of the whole”?
These questions stem from the observation that EVEL procedure, introduced on 22 October 2015 by amending the Standing Orders, “territorializes” the House of…
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