Resumen de Going ‘Where Angels Fear to Tread’: How Effective was the Backbench Business Committee in the 2010−2012 Parliamentary Session?

David H. Foster

• In June 2010, the House of Commons agreed standing order changes creating the Backbench Business Committee, which was to schedule Commons business on 35 days a session. This was both claimed as ‘a defining moment of parliamentary reform’ (HC Deb, 15 June 2010, c787) and dismissed as comprising only ‘very modest changes indeed’ (HC Deb, 22 February 2010, c118). Using parliamentary records and interviews with MPs and parliamentary officials, this article assesses the Committee's effectiveness during the 2010–2012 session and makes recommendations on how its effectiveness can be enhanced for the future. It finds the Committee to have made a significant impact, enhancing the transparency of scheduling non-government business, improving the relevance of Commons debates and showing itself to be an excellent method of holding government to account. The article warns, however, that changes made at the end of the session to the way the Committee is elected risk undermining its future effectiveness.