A book chapter by IPEN members Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Chair of IPEN and University of Leeds), Emma McIntosh (UK House of Commons Service) and Ben Pearson (UK House of Commons Service) is featured in the second edition of Exploring Parliament (Oxford University Press).
Public engagement has become a key role for parliaments, as expectations for openness, accessibility and participation between elections have increased and the value of the public’s participation in parliamentary inquiries has been recognised.
This chapter explores how the UK Parliament performs this role. It shows how it has developed from generic education and public information services in the 1970s into a far more complex and targeted operation today.
The authors begin by outlining how this role has developed, identifying key milestones such as the creation of the e-petitions system. The authors then analyse parliament’s provision of information and education activities. They highlight the work of the Education Centre and the Outreach Team, followed by consultation and participation activities, which reviews select committee and chamber engagement, together with e-petitions.
The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the impact of public engagement and point to key challenges for the future, including reaching out beyond the so-called ‘usual suspects’. A case study demonstrates how public engagement with parliament can shape policy change, in this case in the area of menopause policy.
‘Parliament and Public Engagement’ by Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Emma McIntosh and Ben Pearson was published in the second edition of Exploring Parliament on 19 March 2025.
A copy of this chapter can be accessed by IPEN members in our MS Teams space.
Exploring Parliament (Second Edition) is a textbook providing an engaging and accessible introduction to the UK Parliament, Edited by IPEN members Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Alexandra Meakin and Louise Thompson. The book is available via the Oxford University Press website.
Find out about Exploring Parliament (Second Edition) in this article on the IPEN website.
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Engaging with the UK Parliament on policy. Photo by Cristina Leston-Bandeira.
19 January 2026