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Research Briefing
World War One: The significance of Parliament during the Great War
One hundred years ago, London had enjoyed good weather for the August 3 bank holiday. The tense situation in Ireland, with conflict brewing between unionists and nationalists, and the suffragette campaign of direct action had taken the attention of most of the public over the summer, rather than the consequences of the assassination of Archduke
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Research Briefing
The Law Officers
Information about the role of the Law Officers in England and Wales (the Attorney General and Solicitor General).
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Research Briefing
Scotland: Referendum and independence. A select bibliography.
A selection of resources on the referendum taking place on 18 September 2014 and the potential impact of independence. Standard Note as at 31 July 2013.
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Research Briefing
Programming of legislation – recent proposals
The Procedure Committee's recommendation that a trial take place in 2014-15 Session of a three-day deadline for the tabling of amendments and new clauses/schedules at report stage of all programmed bills will be debated on 8 May 2014. It is hoped this will ensure a timetable could be agreed for report stage debates.
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Research Briefing
European Union (Referendum) Bill and the Parliament Acts
The European Union (Referendum) Bill could be presented for Royal Assent under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 if it is passed by the House of Commons and rejected again by the House of Lords.
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Research Briefing
Queen’s Speech 2014
This Standard Note gathers together announcements from ministers and speculation from commentators on the issues that might be included in the forthcoming Queen’s Speech.
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Research Briefing
Ending the Hamilton Affair?
Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689 has been the subject of a variety of legal challenges. The Article, which provides (in modern parlance) that: “the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament” is usually considered to be a
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Research Briefing
Pre-election contacts between civil servants and opposition parties
By convention, opposition parties are entitled to enter into confidential discussions with senior civil servants in the run-up to a general election. This note outlines the current arrangements and also provides a brief history of the convention.
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Research Briefing
Establishing academic connections
Further to a visit to Lancaster University by specialists from the House of Commons Library and the Committee Office back in March, Kevin Jones, Director of Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC), and Alona Armstrong, Lancaster Energy fellow, came to Westminster to showcase some of Lancaster’s research.
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Research Briefing
All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs): 2014 rule changes
In November 2013, the Committee on Standards recommended changes to the rules on the registration of all-party groups. The Committee's report is scheduled to be debated on 13 May 2014.
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Research Briefing
Crossing the floor
Why isn’t there a by-election when an MP defects from one political party to another? There are no rules requiring the resignation of an MP who leaves one political party for another. A convention that the Member changing parties does not resign to fight a by-election accords with the arguments of Edmund Burke in the
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