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What do 'dilemmas' reveal about elites' underlying beliefs, values and attitudes to parliaments and reform? In this article, I answer this question in two ways. First, I identify three parliamentary 'traditions' among elites regarding the UK Parliament and reform in British politics (specifically: conservative, liberal and reformist traditions). Second, I explore how these different traditions inform MPs when confronted with dilemmas about Parliament's role using two illustrative case studies: the vote to leave the European Union and the Covid-19 pandemic. In so doing, this article makes two original contributions: empirically, by establishing that MPs' actions were informed by one of three traditions, it offers a new explanation for how parliamentary actors respond to challenges; and, theoretically, through the use of the interpretive concept of 'dilemmas', the article demonstrates the added value of using interpretive approaches to explaining parliamentary politics and, specifically, opportunities for analysing institutional change and continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential of the concept of 'dilemma', as introduced in Mark Bevir and R.A.W. Rhodes' interpretive political science, to understand and explain change within and beyond political institutions. This article argues that the current conceptualisation of the concept has been underdeveloped and the potential opportunities of using it have been overlooked. The concept of dilemmas must be developed in two directions: first, through a greater linkage with everyday practices and, second, through a greater linkage to the concept of power. To do so, this article draws on insights from the concept of 'problematisation' as a way to explain change. This adds more detail to dilemmas by arguing that, while dilemmas pose problems for existing beliefs and webs of belief, they also erect boundaries over what is an acceptable answer or resolution to dilemmas. It is this simple yet key insight that offers an opportunity to further strengthen interpretive political science, and offers much potential for future research on political change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]