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AbstractAn emphasis on the distinctive nature and effectiveness of the post‐1979 'departmental' select committee system has tended to dominate the academic literature. This article demonstrates that, on the contrary, many of the most important elements of these changes in the parliamentary environment were already in place by the mid 1970s, and, in particular, that MPs were working effectively to challenge government on select committees well before the advent of the departmental committees. It therefore concludes, contrary to the impression given by conventional accounts of the development of select committees, that the 1979 changes should be seen largely as a sensible restructuring; they were not, as has been claimed, the key event in the advance of select committee scrutiny, but, instead, should be regarded as one step in a gradual process of reform and improvement that began in the mid 1960s.

AbstractAssessments of the work and impact of house of commons investigatory select committees during the 1960s usually centre on the success or otherwise of the new 'specialist' committees established in the second half of the decade. This article uses both quantitative and qualitative evidence to give a more rounded picture, including both new and existing committees. It concludes that 1960s select committees were more popular, active and influential than has previously been appreciated. It also argues that there has been an overvaluation of the role of the Labour cabinet minister, Richard Crossman, in promoting and establishing these committees, and that support for committee work on both front benches and back benches was rather more widespread and substantial than has been assumed. In particular, the article contends that Harold Wilson's role in advancing the work of select committees has been underestimated.

The 'departmental' select committees of the Commons established from 1979 onwards are often represented as a radical and distinctive departure in the history of parliamentary scrutiny, and a clear improvement on the arrangements of previous decades. The article argues that this view needs to be revised, in light of a substantial shift in thinking about select committee scrutiny from the 1960s. Whereas select committees in 1960 were seen as primarily restricted to financial matters, politicians and others later began successfully to promote committee interventions in wider questions of policy and administration. The introduction of departmental committees should therefore be seen as part of a broader long-term process of committee development.