This wide-ranging study, by one of the UK's leading scholars of British politics, presents a fascinating picture of the role of the MP during the last 150 years. It looks at the three major roles of backbench MPs - the partisan role, the constituency role, and the scrutiny role. Rush argues that balance between them has changes significantly and the conflict between the MP as a partisan and as a check on the government creates a dilemma at the heart of parliamentary government.