Essays on the History of Parliamentary Procedure: In Honour of Thomas Erskine May

Description

8 February 2015 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Erskine May. May is the most famous of the fifty holders of the office of Clerk of the House of Commons. His continued renown arises from his Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, first published in 1844 and with its 25th edition currently in preparation. It is known throughout those parts of the world that model their constitutional arrangements on Westminster as the 'Bible of Parliamentary Procedure'. This volume celebrates both the man and his book. Bringing together current and former Clerks in the House of Commons and outside experts, the contributors analyse May's profound contribution to the shaping of the modern House of Commons, as it made the transition from the pre-Reform Act House to the modern core of the UK's constitutional democracy in his lifetime. This is perhaps best symbolised by its enforced transition between 1834 and 1851 from a mediaeval slum to the World Heritage Palace of Westminster, which is the most iconic building in the UK. The book also considers the wider context of parliamentary law and procedure, both before and after May's time. It constitutes the first sustained analysis of the development of parliamentary procedure in over half a century, attempting to situate the reforms in the way the central institution of our democracy conducts itself in the political contexts which drove those changes.

Paul Evans is Clerk of Committees in the House of Commons in Westminster.

... of interest to all parliamentary historians, those specialising in legislative studies, and to anyone wanting to understand the Westminster parliament ... scholarly and deeply informative ... a significant contribution to parliamentary history. -- Michael Rush, University of Exeter * Parliamentary History * The book exemplifies the clerkly culture that it discusses: antiquarian interest, independence of thought, calm open-mindedness, readiness to exercise judgment... a pleasing addition to the series of Hart Studies in Constitutional Law. Essays on the History of Parliamentary Procedure whets the appetite for work on procedure and its implications with contributions from a wider field. -- Edward Stell * Cambridge Law Journal *