Minority government in Britain

1. Minority government in Britain Professor Robert Hazell The Constitution Unit, UCL PSA Parliaments Group conference 24 June 2009

2. Minority government 1900-2000

3. UK experience of minority and coalition government • 20 governments in C20 at Westminster • 5 were coalition governments • 5 were minority governments • No experience of coalition government since 1945 • Last experience of minority government 1976-79 • Minority government seen as unstable, ineffective, incoherent and undesirable

4. Experience in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland • Scotland Lab/Lib Dem coalition govts in 1999 and 2003 SNP minority government since 2007 • Wales Labour minority govt in 1999-2000 and 2005-07 Labour/Lib Dem coalition 2000-03 Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition since 2007 • Northern Ireland Compulsory power sharing coalition, with four parties Led by Ulster Unionist Party/SDLP 1999-2002 Led by Democratic Unionists/Sinn Fein since 2007

5. Lessons from minority government in other Westminster parliaments • Canada: 10 minority governments in C20, 3 this century • New Zealand: 5 minority governments since 1996, mostly coalitions, or with supply and confidence agreements with minor parties • Scotland: minority government since 2007

6. Recent Lessons from minority government in Canada • Major parties still hope to gain an overall majority • PM Harper governs in majoritarian way • Controversial requests to Governor General to dissolve Parliament in Sept 2008 and prorogue Parliament in December • Difficulties over what constitutes an issue of confidence • Fractious, uncivilised behaviour in Parliament

7. Lessons from minority government in New Zealand • Minor party ministers are not bound by collective responsibility, but are bound by confidentiality • Parliament is less executive dominated, but no less party based. Tight whipping and caucusing • Stronger Select Committees, which divide time 50:50 between legislation and inquiries • Legislation has increased, and goes through faster than before

8. Lessons from minority government in Scotland • SNP government viewed as stable and successful • Little legislation: half previous output • Government has to construct coalition of support for each bill • Scottish Parliament has not filled the gap, despite committees’ power to initiate legislation • Presiding Officer announces in advance how he will cast tied vote • Opposition parties have not wanted to trigger early election. Two thirds threshold for dissolution

9. Lessons for Westminster? • Minority government strengthens Parliament vis-à-vis the Executive • Government has to construct majorities for each bill • Tighter whipping likely in Commons • Pressures on Speaker: procedural motions, tied votes • Could increase prospects for parliamentary reform, but only if support parties promote that agenda • House of Lords is already chamber with no overall control. Govt defeated in one third of votes in the Lords

10. Minority government can work if • It has confidence and supply agreements with support parties • It can build legislative coalitions with different parties on different issues • It is not frightened of a snap election, and is doing well in the polls • The opposition parties are in disarray • The PM does not seek to govern in a majoritarian way

11. For our research on minority and coalition government contact Professor Robert Hazell r.hazell@ucl.ac.uk Akash Paun Mark Chalmers Ben Yong www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit