ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the cohort of MPs who were particularly active during the period in order to see how far they helped to create the changes in educational policy from the time when Sir David Eccles took office as Minister to the time when Mrs Margaret Thatcher left the Department of Education and Science (DES). Parliamentary Questions can seek information or press or question a decision of a government department. Parliamentary Questions relate to the fact that an MP has a series of roles to play. A study of the indices of Hansard for 1960 to 1973 showed some difference between the pattern of Parliamentary Questions and the subjects of debates. Debates in the House are preceded by a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party convened by the education group. The Conservative Parliamentary Education Committee is a subcommittee of the 1922 Committee. Opposition leadership may be affected from the party network as well as through Parliament.
