Representation of the UK Parliament’s Power in the National Media: Too Weak, or Too Strong?

Abstract

Abstract Representations of UK parliamentary power in the popular media have attracted little attention, despite shaping citizens’ impressions of the institution. We begin to close this gap, through a content analysis of 657 articles in the national newspapers 2013–2019—a period straddling the Brexit referendum. Pre-referendum, media representations of parliamentary power were mixed, while afterwards, as parliament exerted influence over Brexit, it was presented as more powerful. But right-leaning newspapers shifted their normative position from lamenting parliament’s weakness to criticising its strength. Parliament hence faced a lose-lose situation, with key media outlets depicting it either as dangerously weak or dangerously strong.