The second edition of Exploring Parliament – a textbook providing an engaging and accessible introduction to the UK Parliament – has been published by Oxford University Press.
Exploring Parliament is edited by IPEN members Professor Cristina Leston Bandeira (University of Leeds), Dr Alexandra Meakin (University of Leeds) and Dr Louise Thompson (University of Manchester). The book includes contributions from 73 authors – a mix of academics and practitioners, including many members of IPEN.
Exploring Parliament brings in theory, combined with practice, through a series of short chapters accompanied by case studies which make the subject come to life, plus features such as a glossary of parliamentary terms.
Four of the chapters are specifically relevant to IPEN’s focus, on spaces and places, the media, public engagement and trust.
Exploring Parliament – book launch event
Exploring Parliament will be launched at a hybrid event on Thursday 15 May, starting at 17:30 GMT+1 / UK time.
At this event, the editors will make opening remarks, reflecting on the book’s unique approach. A panel of the book’s authors will discuss their chapters and insights, followed by a Q&A session.
The event will be chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO at the Institute for Government.
Book your place to attend the book launch online.
Find out more about the second edition of Exploring Parliament on the Oxford University Press website.
About the editors
Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira is a Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds. She has worked on parliaments for nearly 30 years. She is Chair of the International Parliament Engagement Network and a previous Chair of the UK Study of Parliament Group (2019-22). Professor Leston-Bandeira’s research focuses on public engagement with parliament, having published widely on the topic and having secured funding from the AHRC, the British Academy, ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust. She regularly gives evidence to parliaments on public engagement, having held a fellowship with the Petitions Committee of the UK House of Commons in 2016-17. She is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing the quality and innovation of her teaching, including a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship (2012) and the Political Studies Association Bernard Crick Main Prize for Outstanding Teaching (2010).
Dr Alexandra Meakin is Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Leeds. Her research focuses on parliamentary governance and the plans to repair the buildings of the UK Parliament (known as the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster). Dr Meakin’s PhD ‘Understanding the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster: A case study of institutional change in the UK Parliament’ was awarded by the University of Sheffield in 2019 and received the 2020 Walter Bagehot Prize for best dissertation in the field of government and public administration by the Political Studies Association. She is a member of the Study of Parliament Group and the International Parliament Engagement Network, and a former convenor of the Political Studies Association Specialist Group on Parliaments and Legislatures. Prior to entering academia, Dr Meakin worked for over a decade in Westminster, for select committees in the House of Commons and for MPs.
Dr Louise Thompson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on legislative scrutiny, committees and political parties in the House of Commons. She is the co-editor of Parliamentary Affairs and a POST parliamentary fellow (2024-2025) undertaking research with the UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. She was previously the Co-Convenor of the Political Studies Association’s specialist group on Parliaments and Legislatures (2014-2018). In 2022, Dr Thompson was awarded the Political Studies Association’s Richard Rose Prize for a distinctive contribution to the study of British Politics.
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Exploring Parliament book, Oxford University Press.
Article published: 24 April 2025