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Constitution

• To best advance and further public education in the art or science of government through Parliament (including the working of Parliament and Parliamentary institutions) or other branches of political science;
• To best advance and further the study of and research into methods of government through Parliament (including the working of Parliament and Parliamentary institutions) or other branches of political science, in and for the benefit of the community as a whole, and to publish the results of such study and research;
• to best advance public education in forms of parliamentary government and representative assemblies (whether or not such forms shall be actual or theoretical).

The Group is a Registered Charity, No. 251208

Although its findings are published, the Group's meetings are usually private.

Membership falls into four categories:

1. past and present staff (including graduates holding post-doctoral research positions) of universities and other academic or research institutions;
2. postgraduate research students currently registered at a university within the United Kingdom;
3. past and present officials of two Houses of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, Tynwald, the Oireachtas and the Channel Islands parliaments; and
4. other persons having a serious and proven interest in the objects of the Group, not being members of any of the above legislatures when first elected to membership.

Candidates are proposed by existing members, and their applications are considered by the Executive Committee (three times a year, normally in March, June and November), notified to Group members for views, and ratified at the next Executive Committee meeting. Initial inquiries, preferably accompanied by details of work done in the areas of the Group's interests (see above) should be addressed to:

• categories i, ii and iv: Cristina Leston-Bandeira (C.C.Leston-Bandeirahull.ac.uk)
• category iii: Alexander Horne (horneaparliament.uk).

The current annual subscription is £25 (apart from category ii, where it is £10): this will be asked for if and when the application has been successful.

Activities

The main work of the Group is to examine particular subjects within its remit, usually by means of a small "Study Group" of around a dozen members (occasionally adding one or two non-members). These then plan a programme of work, sometimes involving original research, and present their findings either as a book, an article, or sometimes a submission to a Parliamentary committee. The Publications pages show the types of subjects which have been studied. They are divided into Books, Articles and Evidence to Committees.

In addition, the Group holds occasional meetings in Parliament or elsewhere with visiting speakers and invited guests.

See details of some of our academic members and their academic/research interests.

History

In 1985 the Group published a short History entitled The Study of Parliament Group: The First Twenty-one Years, by Dermot Englefield. You can read it here (except for the Appendices).