ABSTRACT
The standing orders adopted by the house in the last half of the nineteenth century by and large recognized that government in Britain had become party government, and that the dominant party could expect to control not only the workings of the executive, but also the deliberations—and, largely, the conclusions—of parliament. The use of select committees of the house of commons to ascertain facts before the introduction of legislation declined steeply towards the end of the nineteenth century. It was the victim of the rise of party organization and political control of the commons by the government after the 1867 reform act, and the creation of the modern civil service, which removed from parliament most of its responsibility for the preparation of legislation. The structure of parliamentary ‘control’ of delegated legislation has grown up piecemeal. Most enabling acts conferring powers to make subordinate legislation make provision for some parliamentary approval of the ensuing orders and regulations.
