ABSTRACT
It is part of the Liberal view of the constitution that Parliament should control the administration through the dependence of ministers on Parliamentary support and the convention of ministerial responsibility for the work of their departments. There are other countries, it is commonly said or implied, where the bureacracy is a law unto itself, but in Britain the administration is kept in check by the vigilance of ‘the Parliamentary watchdog’. In practice this control is now limited by two factors. The first is the development of party government, under which ministers are protected from the possibility of an adverse vote in Parliament by the support of the majority party. The second is the immense amount and complexity of government business, which makes it difficult for back-bench M.P.’s to offer informed criticism except in so far as they are briefed by affected interests.
