4. The Political Organization of Parliament

This chapter discusses the political organization of the UK Parliament, showing the central role of political parties. It firstly considers formal political organization within Parliament, examining the role of political parties in inducting MPs and Peers into parliamentary life, the role of the whips as a source of information and support and the Short Money funding given to opposition parties to facilitate them in carrying out their parliamentary business. It additionally discusses party rights, and the way parliamentary work is often dominated by the two largest opposition parties. The second half of the chapter focuses on political organization outside the chamber, through internal party groups such as the 1922 Committee and the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), as well as cross party groups. The case study demonstrates how party politics and the political organization of parliamentary business put pressure on Prime Minister Liz Truss during her last week in office.