Roles and behaviour of British MPs

The work of Donald Searing provides a snapshot of the motivational roles of British Members of Parliament in the early 1970s. Drawing on Searing's work, this paper considers the emergence of the Policy Advocate, identifying the likely reasons for the decline of more traditional roles, the unexpectedly large number of Policy Advocates in the 1970s, and the presumed increase in the number of Policy Advocates in later parliaments. Cognitive mobilisation has generated a new breed of MP and changes in parliamentary behaviour and structures have consolidated the position of the Policy Advocate. The rise of the Policy Advocate has important implications for the House of Commons and, given increasing demands made of MPs, the number of Policy Advocates is anticipated to increase in the future.