Motion of no confidence votes in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Motions of no confidence, also called votes of confidence, votes of no-confidence or censure motions, are a feature of the Westminster system
of government
used in the United Kingdom
that requires an executive
to retain the confidence of the House of Commons. It is a fundamental principle of the British constitution that the Government must retain the confidence of the legislature
as it is not possible for a Government to operate effectively without the support of the majority of the legislature.
In last resort the principle is based upon the government's dependence upon the House of Commons for "political capital". It is possible for a vote of no confidence to succeed where there is a minority government
, a small majority or where there are internal party splits. Where there is a minority government, the government may seek agreements or pacts with minor parties in order to remain in office. Despite their importance to the British constitution, the rules surrounding motions of no confidence are dictated by convention. A defeat in a vote of no confidence will oblige a government to resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament
. A no confidence vote was last successfully used on 28 March 1979, when the minority government of James Callaghan
was defeated in a confidence motion which read "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government". A no confidence vote can have the effect of uniting the ruling party; for this reason such motions are rarely used and successful motions are even rarer. Before 1979 the last successful motion of no confidence occurred in 1924.
could pass the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty
.
and the leader of the Opposition rather than the Ministers for the policy area which may be the concern of the motion. Not every no confidence motion will profess no confidence in the Government, some no confidence motions only state no confidence in the particular policies of a government. Probably the most famous no confidence motion was on the night of March 28th 1979 when Jim Callagahan's Labour Government fell from office by one vote, 311-310.. It was considered the most dramatic night in Westminister's history.
Although there is no commonly accepted and comprehensive definition of a confidence motion it is possible to identify confidence motions from their timing, the speakers and the terms of the motion. Motions of confidence are supportive of the Government whereas motions of no confidence are unsupportive of the Government. It can be difficult to distinguish an opposition no confidence motion and other opposition motions critical of Government policy. The term censure motion can also refer a category of motion which does not attempt to remove the Government.
A Government can also be forced into resigning or calling an election by a lost vote on the Queen's Speech (The government's legislative programme), losing a Finance Bill or a vote on a major issue on which it fought a General Election campaign.
During the period 1945-1970 Governments were rarely defeated in the House of Commons and the impression grew that if a Government was defeated it must reverse the decision, seek a vote of confidence or resign.
Brazier argues: "it used to be the case that a defeat on a major matter had the same effect as if an explicit vote of confidence had carried" but that a development in constitutional practice has occurred since the 1970s. Thatcher's defeat over the Shops Act did not trigger a confidence motion despite being described as ‘a central piece of their legislative programme’. The government simply accepted that they could not pass the bill and gave assurances to Parliament that they would not introduce it.
After a defeat on a major issue of government policy the Government may resign, dissolve Parliament or seek a vote of confidence from the House. Recent historical practice has been to seek a vote of confidence from the House. John Major did this after defeat over the "Social Protocol" of the Maastricht Treaty
. Defeats on minor issues do not raise any constitutional questions.
can force a resignation. For example in 2009 the proposed vote of no confidence in the Speaker of the House of Commons
forced the resignation of Michael Martin. Several MPs breached a constitutional convention and openly called for the resignation of the Speaker.
Those Members of Parliament were:
Liberal Democrat
Conservative
Labour
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
used in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that requires an executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
to retain the confidence of the House of Commons. It is a fundamental principle of the British constitution that the Government must retain the confidence of the legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
as it is not possible for a Government to operate effectively without the support of the majority of the legislature.
In last resort the principle is based upon the government's dependence upon the House of Commons for "political capital". It is possible for a vote of no confidence to succeed where there is a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, a small majority or where there are internal party splits. Where there is a minority government, the government may seek agreements or pacts with minor parties in order to remain in office. Despite their importance to the British constitution, the rules surrounding motions of no confidence are dictated by convention. A defeat in a vote of no confidence will oblige a government to resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. A no confidence vote was last successfully used on 28 March 1979, when the minority government of James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
was defeated in a confidence motion which read "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government". A no confidence vote can have the effect of uniting the ruling party; for this reason such motions are rarely used and successful motions are even rarer. Before 1979 the last successful motion of no confidence occurred in 1924.
Government
Motions of no confidence fall into three categories. Motions initiated by the Government, those initiated by the Opposition, and motions which can be regarded as issues of confidence because of particular circumstances. The first category are effectively threats of dissolution as occurred in 1993 so that John MajorJohn Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
could pass the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
.
Opposition
Opposition motions are initiated by the Opposition party and often occur with little chance of a confidence motion succeeding. By convention a no confidence vote will take precedence over normal Parliamentary business for that day and will begin with Speeches from the Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and the leader of the Opposition rather than the Ministers for the policy area which may be the concern of the motion. Not every no confidence motion will profess no confidence in the Government, some no confidence motions only state no confidence in the particular policies of a government. Probably the most famous no confidence motion was on the night of March 28th 1979 when Jim Callagahan's Labour Government fell from office by one vote, 311-310.. It was considered the most dramatic night in Westminister's history.
Although there is no commonly accepted and comprehensive definition of a confidence motion it is possible to identify confidence motions from their timing, the speakers and the terms of the motion. Motions of confidence are supportive of the Government whereas motions of no confidence are unsupportive of the Government. It can be difficult to distinguish an opposition no confidence motion and other opposition motions critical of Government policy. The term censure motion can also refer a category of motion which does not attempt to remove the Government.
A Government can also be forced into resigning or calling an election by a lost vote on the Queen's Speech (The government's legislative programme), losing a Finance Bill or a vote on a major issue on which it fought a General Election campaign.
19th century
- 1841 vote of no confidence against the government of Viscount Melbourne1841 vote of no confidence against the government of Viscount MelbourneThe 1841 vote of no confidence against the government of Viscount Melbourne was a vote of no confidence in the government of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne which occurred on the 7 June 1841. Melbourne lost the vote by only one vote and dissolved Parliament leading to an election in July 1841....
- 1855 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of Aberdeen1855 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of AberdeenThe 1855 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of Aberdeen occurred on 9 January 1855 when the House of Commons voted in favour of a select committee to enquire into alleged mismanagement during the Crimean War...
- 1866 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl Russell1866 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl RussellThe 1866 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl Russell occurred when the Government of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell was defeated on Parliamentary reform proposals on 18th June 1866....
- 1885 vote of no confidence against the government of William Gladstone1885 vote of no confidence against the government of William GladstoneThe 1885 vote of no confidence against the government of William Gladstone occurred when in 1885 Gladstone's budget was defeated. Gladstone resigned from office on 9 June 1885....
- 1886 vote of no confidence against the government of William Gladstone1886 vote of no confidence against the government of William GladstoneThe 1886 vote of no confidence against the government of William Ewart Gladstone occurred when Parliament rejected the Government's Ireland Bill. The Bill was treated as a confidence vote and Gladstone resigned immediately after....
- 1892 vote of no confidence against the government of the Marquess of Salisbury1892 vote of no confidence against the government of the Marquess of SalisburyThe 1892 vote of no confidence against the government of the Marquess of Salisbury occurred when the Conservative Party government of Robert Cecil, the Marquess of Salisbury decided to meet Parliament after the general election despite not winning a majority...
- 1895 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of Rosebery1895 vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of RoseberyThe vote of no confidence against the government of the Earl of Rosebery of 21 June 1895, also known as the Cordite vote, was the occasion on which the Liberal Government of the Earl of Rosebery was defeated in a vote of censure by the House of Commons...
20th century
- 1924 vote of no confidence against the government of Stanley Baldwin1924 vote of no confidence against the government of Stanley BaldwinThe 1924 vote of no confidence against the government of Stanley Baldwin was a vote of no confidence against Conservative Party leader Stanley Baldwin. After an election in December 1923 the Conservative Party did not have the majority it needed to form a government allowing Labour and the Liberals...
- 1924 vote of no confidence against the government of Ramsay MacDonald1924 vote of no confidence against the government of Ramsay MacDonaldThe 1924 vote of no confidence in the government of Ramsay MacDonald was a vote of censure against the Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald as a consequence of the withdrawal of proceedings by Her Majesty's Attorney General Sir Patrick Hastings MP in the Campbell case...
- 1979 vote of no confidence against the government of James Callaghan1979 vote of no confidence against the government of James CallaghanThe 1979 vote of no confidence in the government of James Callaghan was a vote of no confidence in the British Labour Government of James Callaghan which occurred on 28 March 1979. The vote was brought by opposition leader Margaret Thatcher and was lost by the Labour Government by one vote ,...
Constitutional practice
If a government win a confidence motion they are able to remain in office. If a confidence motion is lost then the Government is obliged to resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament (and call a General Election). Modern practice shows dissolution rather than resignation to be the result of a defeat. The government is only obliged to resign if it loses a confidence vote although a significant defeat on a major issue may lead to a confidence motion.During the period 1945-1970 Governments were rarely defeated in the House of Commons and the impression grew that if a Government was defeated it must reverse the decision, seek a vote of confidence or resign.
Brazier argues: "it used to be the case that a defeat on a major matter had the same effect as if an explicit vote of confidence had carried" but that a development in constitutional practice has occurred since the 1970s. Thatcher's defeat over the Shops Act did not trigger a confidence motion despite being described as ‘a central piece of their legislative programme’. The government simply accepted that they could not pass the bill and gave assurances to Parliament that they would not introduce it.
After a defeat on a major issue of government policy the Government may resign, dissolve Parliament or seek a vote of confidence from the House. Recent historical practice has been to seek a vote of confidence from the House. John Major did this after defeat over the "Social Protocol" of the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
. Defeats on minor issues do not raise any constitutional questions.
Michael Martin
A proposed motion of no confidenceMotion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
can force a resignation. For example in 2009 the proposed vote of no confidence in the Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
forced the resignation of Michael Martin. Several MPs breached a constitutional convention and openly called for the resignation of the Speaker.
Those Members of Parliament were:
Liberal Democrat
- Nick CleggNick CleggNicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
- Norman BakerNorman BakerNorman John Baker is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewes in East Sussex since 1997. Since May 2010 he has been Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department for Transport....
- Danny AlexanderDanny AlexanderDaniel Grian Alexander is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2010. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency since 2005....
- John HemmingJohn Hemming (politician)John Alexander Melvin Hemming is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley and Group Chair of the Liberal Democrats on the city council of Birmingham, England....
- Chris HuhneChris HuhneChristopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
- Norman LambNorman LambNorman Peter Lamb is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and Chief Parliamentary and Political Adviser and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.He is the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk....
- Jo SwinsonJo SwinsonJo Swinson is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire constituency, a suburban and semi-rural area to the north of Glasgow in Scotland, and is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats...
- Stephen WilliamsStephen Williams (politician)Stephen Roy Williams is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Bristol West in the 2005 general election, being re-elected with an increased majority in May 2010...
- Lynne FeatherstoneLynne FeatherstoneLynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
- Greg MulhollandGreg MulhollandGregory Thomas Mulholland is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Leeds North West. He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2010 general election. Before...
- Adrian SandersAdrian SandersAdrian Mark Sanders is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon.-Personal life:...
Conservative
- Richard BaconRichard Bacon (politician)Richard Michael Bacon is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for the South Norfolk constituency.-Early life:...
- David DavisDavid Davis (British politician)David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
- Douglas CarswellDouglas CarswellJohn Douglas Wilson Carswell is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Clacton, having been first elected as MP for Harwich in 2005....
- Ben WallaceBen Wallace (UK politician)Robert Ben Lobban Wallace , known as Ben Wallace, is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Wyre and Preston North since the 2010 general election, having been the MP for Lancaster and Wyre from 2005 to 2010.-Early life:Wallace was born in the London...
- Richard ShepherdRichard ShepherdRichard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. He is currently a Member of Parliament, having represented the constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills since 1979....
- Philip HollobonePhilip HollobonePhilip Thomas Hollobone is a British Conservative Party politician who is both a Member of Parliament for the Kettering constituency and a member of Kettering Borough Council for the Piper's Hill ward .-Early life:Hollobone was educated at Dulwich College, London, and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford...
- Philip DaviesPhilip DaviesPhilip Andrew Davies is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire.-Early life:...
- Anne MainAnne MainAnne Margaret Main is a Conservative Party politician in Britain. She was elected at the 2005 general election as the Member of Parliament for St Albans, defeating the Labour incumbent Kerry Pollard, and was re-elected in 2010....
- Malcolm MossMalcolm MossMalcolm Douglas Moss is a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire from 1987 until his retirement at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
- Graham Stuart
- Charles Walker
- David Davies
Labour
- Paul FlynnPaul Flynn (politician)Paul Philip Flynn is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Newport West since the 1987 general election. He was born in Cardiff of Welsh/Irish parentage....
- Gordon PrenticeGordon PrenticeGordon Prentice is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Pendle in Lancashire from 1992 to 2010.-Early life:...
- Kate HoeyKate HoeyCatharine Letitia Hoey is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Vauxhall since 1989. She served in the Blair Government as Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001.-Background:...
- Charles ClarkeCharles ClarkeCharles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
- Dr Ian GibsonIan Gibson (politician)Ian Gibson is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich North from 1997 to 2009...