PRIME MINISTERS AND THE COMMONS: PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR, 1868 TO 1987

Since 1868 nineteen Prime Ministers have answered parliamentary questions, made statements, given major speeches, and intervened in debates in the House of Commons. This article presents a comparative and quantitative analysis of PMS' behaviour patterns on these four dimensions. Key findings include: the importance of 1940 as the critical break between a traditional and a modem form of parliamentary activity, in which Prime Ministers make fewer contributions to Commons proceedings altogether, fewer speeches and far fewer interventions in debates than in the pre-1940 period, but more statements; the emergence of question time as the absolutely dominant form of prime ministerial activity in the Commons, especially from the mid-1970s onwards; and the distinctiveness of Thatcher's minimalist Commons activity, when set against other post-1940 PMs.     

LOCAL BROADCASTING AND THE LOCAL AUTHORITY

The development of local radio in Britain was expected to have significant and positive effects on local political communication. This article discusses the extent and character of local radio's engagement with the local political system, drawing upon some of the evidence obtained from a wide-ranging study of what radio stations are doing. The nature of local government coverage is discussed, with appropriate examples. The limitations of local radio's engagement with the local political system are highlighted, reflected in both the quantity and quality of its coverage. Some reasons for these limitations are suggested (size of local radio areas, lack of expertise in local government matters, attitudes of broadcasters) and the need to overcome them is stressed if the original promise of local radio in this field is to be fulfilled.     

PLANNING: LESSONS FROM THE PORTS

The National Ports Council, created in 1964 and abolished in 1982, was engaged in one of the rare sustained attempts at planning in Britain. This article explains the Council's decision not to carry out full-scale planning because of the difficulties of collecting information, assessing technological and economic changes, and reconciling rational economic planning with short term political pressures.