Norton Philip (ed.) Parliaments and Citizens in Western Europe

Frank Cass, 2002. — 273 p.Parliaments and Citizens in Western Europe is volume 3 and the final part of Parliaments in Contemporary Western Europe series. Citizens elect the parliament, but what contract takes place between citizen and parliament in between elections? The authors assess the extent and nature of that contact. To what extent are members of parliament accessible to the ordinary citizen? And what are the implications for the legislature? Can there be too much, or too little, contact?ContentsPreface
ContributorsGeneral Introduction
Philip NortonIntroduction: Linking Parliaments and Citizens
Philip NortonThe United Kingdom: Building the Link between Constituent and MP
Philip NortonParliament and Citizens in Germany: Reconciling Conflicting Pressures
Thomas SaalfeldParliament and Citizens in Italy: A Distant Relationship
Vincent Della SalaBelgian MPs: Between Omnipotent Parties and Disenchanted Citizen-Clients
Lieven De WinterStill Persecuting Civil Servants? Irish Parliamentarians and Citizens
Eunan O’HalpinParliament and Citizens in Portugal: Still Looking for Links
Cristina Leston-BandeiraThe European Parliament: Of Barriers and Removed Citizens
Mark Shephard and Roger ScullyConclusion: Developing the Links
Philip NortonIndex