Exploring Parliament

Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira is a Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds. She has worked on parliaments for over 20 years and was until recently Co-Convenor of the Political Studies Association specialist group on Parliaments and Legislatures. She is co-editor of Parliamentary Affairs and a Constitution Unit Fellow. Professor Leston-Bandeira has led research grants funded by the ESRC, the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust, which have analysed public engagement with parliament. She is currently developing research on the new UK Parliament's e-Petitions system. She regularly gives evidence to parliaments in the area of public engagement, having been a Commissioner of the Digital Democracy Commission set up by the Speaker of the House of Commons. She is also the recipient of numerous awards recognising the quality and innovation of her teaching.

Dr Louise Thompson is Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Surrey. She is the Co-Convenor of the Political Studies Association specialist group on Parliaments and Legislatures and an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Legislative Studies. Dr Thompson is an expert in legislative scrutiny and the author of Making British Law: Committees in Action (Palgrave Macmillan 2015). She has recently completed a British Academy/Leverhulme funded project on public engagement with legislation. Dr Thompson maintains a strong interest in the teaching of parliamentary studies and British Politics and is the author of several publications (with Cristina Leston-Bandeira) aimed at helping students to understand Parliament. These have been disseminated by the UK Parliament, the Political Studies Association and the Higher Education Academy. She is currently the Managing Editor of the Political Studies Association Blog.