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In the United Kingdom, confidence motions are a means of testing the support of the government (executive) in a legislative body, and for the legislature to remove the government from office. A confidence motion may take the form of either a vote of confidence, usually put forward by the government, or a
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
(or censure motion), usually proposed by the opposition. When such a motion is put to a vote in the legislature, if a vote of confidence is defeated, or a vote of no confidence is passed, then the incumbent government must resign, or call a general election. It is a fundamental principle of the British constitution that the government must retain the confidence of the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
, as it is not possible for a government to operate effectively without the support of the majority of the people's representatives.http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m07.pdf At the national level, this means that the UK government (the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
) must retain the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons. It is possible for a vote of no confidence to succeed where there is a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...
or a small majority, or where there are internal party splits leading to some members of the ruling party voting against its leaders. Where there is a minority government, the government may seek agreements or pacts with other parties in order to prevail in the vote and remain in office. Despite their importance to the constitution, for a long time the rules surrounding motions of no confidence were dictated solely by convention. Under the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed election date for a general election to the Westminster parliament. Since the repea ...
, a vote of no confidence had to be passed in a specific form in order to create the possibility of an early general election. Under the Act, if a motion of no confidence in the government was passed in express terms, the house must then adopt a vote of confidence in that same or an alternative government within 14 days, or a general election be held. These practices were ended in 2022, with the
repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
of the 2011 Act. A no-confidence vote was last successfully used on 28 March 1979, when the minority government of
James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
was defeated. 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. The most recent confidence vote instigated by the opposition was held on 16 January 2019, with the government prevailing. Defeat of a motion of no confidence (or winning a vote of confidence) does not provide protection to the government in power for any specific length of time. MPs from any political party may propose another vote immediately, although are unlikely to do so due to convention and potential weakening of their own standing.


Forms

Since 1945 there have been three votes of confidence and 23 of no confidence. Confidence motions fall into three categories: * Explicit motions initiated by the Government * Explicit motions initiated by the Opposition * Motions which can be regarded as issues of confidence because of particular circumstances.


Government

A motion in this category is often effectively a threat of dissolution by the government, in order to persuade backbench MPs to support a bill. One such threat occurred in 1993 so that
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...
could pass the Social Chapter of the
Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
. In 2022, the outgoing government of
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
called a vote of confidence in itself after rejecting the wording of a proposed opposition motion that had signalled no confidence in both the government and Johnson's leadership specifically.


Opposition

Opposition motions are initiated by the opposition party and often have little chance of success. By convention, a no-confidence vote takes precedence over normal Parliamentary business for that day, and will begin with speeches from the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and the
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, rather than the ministers for the policy area which may be the concern of the motion. The motion may either profess no confidence in the Government itself, or no confidence in the particular policies of a government. Probably the most famous no-confidence motion was on the night of 28 March 1979 when Jim Callaghan's Labour Government fell from office by one vote, 311–310, in what was described by the BBC as one of the most dramatic nights in Westminster's history.


Particular circumstances

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 from other opposition motions critical of Government policy. The term censure motion can also refer to a category of motion which does not attempt to remove the government.


List of no-confidence votes


Successful votes before 1940


Votes since 1940

The list below includes all confidence motions since 1945 and some between 1940 and 1945. Government-defeated motions are noted in bold.


Constitutional practice


Before 2011 and after 2021

If a government wins 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. Although this is a convention, prior to the 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act there was no law which requires that the Government resign or 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 Bill 1986 The Shops Bill 1986 was a parliamentary bill in the United Kingdom that would have ended government regulation of Sunday shopping in England and Wales. Introduced by the Government of Margaret Thatcher, it was defeated in the House of Commons at ...
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 The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
. Defeats on minor issues do not raise any constitutional questions. A proposed
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
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 in the wake of the Parliamentary Expenses Scandal. Several MPs breached a constitutional convention and openly called for the resignation of the Speaker.


2011 – 2022

Under the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed election date for a general election to the Westminster parliament. Since the repea ...
, a passing of a motion of no confidence was one of only two ways in which an early election can occur (the other is a motion to hold an early election passed by at least two-thirds of MPs). Following a successful motion, Parliament must dissolve, unless the motion was overturned within 14 days by the passing of an explicit ''motion of confidence''. This procedure was designed to allow a minority government time to seek the support of other parties (as a formal
coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
or with a confidence and supply arrangement) to avoid having to face re-election, or to allow an alternative government to be formed. In principle, the alternative government could be led by any MP who can draw together enough support for a legislative programme that secures a vote of confidence and, by convention, a request from the monarch to form such a government. In practice, it was likely to be the leader, or a senior member, of a party with a significant number of MPs in the House that can achieve this. In turn, they could be expected to bring about an early election using the two-thirds of MPs provision of the Fixed-Term Act to gain a popular mandate for their programme. The only such motion under the 2011 Act was tabled on 15 January 2019, following the defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal, and was voted on the following day. May won the vote.


See also

*
Motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
*
Constitution of the United Kingdom The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attemp ...
*
Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is dissolved automatically five years after the day on which it first met or earlier by the Sovereign by royal proclamation made by virtue of the royal prerogative. The prerogative power to dissolve Parliam ...
* Lascelles Principles – relating to the sovereign's power to dissolve Parliament


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Motion of No Confidence Votes in the United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom