Parliamentary Communication Allowances: Good for Nothing?
| Author | Resul Umit |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929920967588 |
| Published date | 01 August 2021 |
| Date | 01 August 2021 |
| Subject Matter | The Null Hypothesis |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929920967588
Political Studies Review
2021, Vol. 19(3) 492 –500
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929920967588
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Parliamentary Communication
Allowances: Good for Nothing?
Resul Umit
Abstract
In many countries, members of parliament receive publicly funded allowances to communicate
with the electorate. Some hope that ensuing parliamentary communication engages the people
with politics and increases electoral participation. Others worry that such use of public funds might
create an unfair advantage for incumbents and affect electoral results. Yet, the consequences of
this practice remain unknown. Data from the UK House of Commons suggest that both the hopes
and the worries are baseless: there is no evidence that parliamentary communication allowances
increase electoral turnout or affect incumbents’ vote share. If these allowances are not effective,
both parliaments and their members might want to reconsider their use and usefulness.
Keywords
members of parliament, parliamentary communication, electoral outcomes
Accepted: 30 September 2020
Introduction
From informing the people to educating them about political affairs, communication has
always been a function of parliaments (Bagehot, 1867). At a time of public disengage-
ment with politics, the parliamentary communication function is now acknowledged
more widely than perhaps ever before (Kelso, 2007; Leston-Bandeira, 2016). Indeed,
many parliaments have developed new communication strategies in the last couple of
decades (Leston-Bandeira, 2013; Power, 2012). One of these strategies is to provide the
members of parliament (MPs) with allowances to spend on communicating with the elec-
torate (Auel and Umit, 2018). A lot is being invested in this strategy, in terms of both
money and expectations, but we still do not know whether parliamentary communication
allowances are effective in increasing public engagement with politics.
The stakes are high for parliaments. Parliamentary allowances, as well as salaries, are
a source of public controversy in general (Kelso, 2009). Any new allowance comes with
an increased risk of public cynicism towards MPs, and it takes a minority of them to
ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Corresponding author:
Resul Umit, ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, 0373 Oslo, Norway.
Email: resuluy@uio.no
967588PSW0010.1177/1478929920967588Political Studies ReviewUmit
research-article2020
The Null Hypothesis
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