ABSTRACT
The British MP has a constituency face and a Westminster face. The constituency face has become more demanding in recent decades but is essentially, though not wholly, non-threatening to party leaders. The Westminster face has become more complex, with the intra-party and non-party modes of executive–legislative relationships becoming more prominent in the twentieth century. The modes have become institutionalised through the development of party structures and departmental select committees in the House of Commons. These changes have taken place as MPs have sought to achieve some autonomy in parliamentary behaviour as a response to externally induced constraints on that behaviour. The capacity to influence party leaders has increased but is under challenge as a consequence of organisational and electoral changes in the 1990s.
