Go-along research in the UK Parliament

Abstract

The current deadlock surrounding the prospective Restoration and Renewal of the UK Parliamentary Estate is attributable to several perceived risks. These include the suspension of parliamentary procedure, ossification of the site, the ceasing of interactions which shape both the estate and broader structures of power and governance, and the loss of narrative meaning (as a form of constitution) embedded in Parliament's constantly-changing design and function(s). Investigating such a combination of physical and conceptual concerns (resonating with broader questions about the relationship between parliamentary spaces and representative democracy) requires a research methodology that is dynamic and spatial, building on the political geography concept of ‘geo-constitution’ by applying it within the UK Parliament.

This article discusses go-along interviews as crucial to a spatial understanding of Parliament. They allowed us to directly experience the estate – alongside our research participants – and the ongoing negotiations and interactions which produce it as a living site. Our observations lead us to advocate for a widening of participation in future research, incorporating estates and service staff (to inform and enrich understanding of ‘backstage’ parliamentary processes) and members of the public, whose access to Parliament also tends to be on foot and whose experiences of the estate (as a synecdoche for Parliament and representative democracy) should be a central consideration in Restoration and Renewal. We also conclude that the Parliamentary Estate has a geo-constitutional significance, accounting for anxieties relating to Restoration and Renewal and what this might mean for the estate, for Parliament and for the UK.