Held to account

It is well understood that one of the main roles of the backbench MP at Westminster is to hold the government of the day to account for its acts and omissions. In practice, this can be achieved through various means, including written and oral questions to ministers, debates in parliament and the work of departmental select committees on which MPs may serve. While these opportunities mostly arise in a formal setting, access to ministers may also be obtained behind the scenes, in the tea room and bars of the House of Commons or when MPs vote by passing through the “Aye” or “No” lobbies which adjoin the chamber. Indeed, the opportunity which this archaic form of voting presents to a backbench MP to buttonhole a minister in the absence of the minister’s retinue appears to be a key reason why the Westminster Parliament continues to eschew electronic voting. With the doors of the lobbies locked and MPs waiting to file through, a backbencher has the