Thomas Caygill

Tom's wider research interests lie in parliamentary scrutiny of the executive and the legislative process. He is particularly interested in the relationship between executives and legislatures and the innovative ways in which parliaments seek to boost their influence with the executive. His interest in this area of legislative studies stems from the way governments within Westminster-style democracies can dominate legislatures. He received a PhD in Political Science from Newcastle University in June 2019, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. His thesis examined post-legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament and was the first systematic study of this type of parliamentary scrutiny. The thesis explored where and how often post-legislative scrutiny had taken place, what the processes of scrutiny involved, the extent to which committee recommendations were being accepted and how both Houses of the UK Parliament differ in their undertaking of it.