The Primary Tasks of a Backbench MP

Perhaps the most common way for a backbench MP to represent their constituents is through adjournment debates at the end of each day of sitting of the commons theses debates give backbenchers a chance to raise a subject of his or her choosing, although there is usually no motion and therefore no vote, the debate is a chance for an MP to debate a matter with the relevant minister. The fact that there is no vote may lead people to question the relevance of bringing up something in an adjournment debate but in 2004 Vince Cable used 18 adjournment debates to great effect and it was during an adjournment debate in1940 known as the Norway debate that the government of then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was fatally weakened.

A member of parliament may choose to spend their parliamentary career being metaphorically whipped by their party, which is taking the party line on all votes in the house and never speaking out against their party while outside the palace of Westminster. An MP could be congratulated for taking this approach as many voters vote for a party rather than a person, then it can be seen that an MP is obliged to vote with their party. It has been show that the influx of female labour MP’s in the 1997 election known as Blair’s babes are far more likely to follow the party line and not rebel than other labour MP’s. However taking the party line on every issue can sometimes leave an MP ignoring the views of their constituents and leaves little room for an MP to hold the government, or if an opposition MP their leadership, to account. One MP who obviously does not have his party interests at heart is Quentin Davies who defected from the Conservative Party to the labour party on the 26th of June 2007.

An MP may choose to rebel if they believe that in doing so they are standing up for the interests of the nation, they would have to feel that the actions of the government are detrimental to the nation and therefore their conscience dictates that they should rebel. This route has been taken by many MP’s some just looking to make a name for themselves others like Robin Cook resigned from the government due to his opposition to the war in Iraq. However an MP who takes this route may just be looking to raise his or her profile rather than being interested in the good of the nation.

One important job of a backbench Member of Parliament is to scrutinise the government, they do this by putting government policy under full parliamentary scrutiny using outspoken attacks during question times, debates on policy, during the committee stage and sometimes through adjournment debates. Some MPS are better at this than others, Tam Dalyell who was farther of the house from 2001-2005 is well known as a critic of any war arguing against action in Aden, the Falklands War the Gulf War and action in Kosovo and Iraq, saying, “I will resist a war with every sinew in my body.” Because of theses actions he was threatened with the removal of the labour whip, showing that this scrutiny had effect.

Backbenchers often represent their own personal interests rather than any noble cause when they look to perform in parliament in the hope that they will be noticed by a whip and be elevated to the government but some MPs like George Galloway use parliamentary time to put forward causes they believe in. In the case George Galloway he used Iraq war debates to discuss the plight of Iraqi war victims.

The tasks of a backbench Member of Parliament are many and wide ranging, with representing their constituents and national interests perhaps the most important, but what we can be sure of is that the MPs do a valuable job and do not earn the £60,000 a year sitting around and talking in Westminster.