Radoslaw Zubek publishes new joint article on the 1902 'Balfour reforms' which centralized agenda control at Westminster

DPIR's Associate Professor Radoslaw Zubek has co-authored a new article in Legislative Studies Quarterly, jointly with Tom Fleming (UCL) and Simon Hix (EUI), exploring how the 1902 ‘Balfour reforms’ established a core feature of the UK House of Commons: ministers’ control of its agenda. 

The article is now summarised in a new blog post published by the Constitution Unit Blog.

The article probes the argument – found in some earlier research – that the 1902 reform was passed consensually, with support from the main opposition party. 

Contrary to this view, the article finds evidence that the opposition consistently opposed the introduction of this new rule. 

This research sheds new light on a landmark episode in the evolution of the House of Commons and suggests a need to revisit wider accounts of the evolution of government agenda control.

This publication forms part of Radoslaw Zubek’s broader research agenda on the evolution of legislative institutions. You can find out more by visiting radoslawzubek.com and parlrulesdata.org.