crossbencher
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A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber.


United Kingdom

Crossbench members of the British House of Lords are not aligned to any particular party. Until 2009, these included the Law Lords appointed under the
Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict c 59) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the judicial functions of the House of Lords by allowing senior judges to sit in the House of Lords as life peers, known a ...
. In addition, former Speakers of the House of Commons (such as Lord Martin of Springburn and
Baroness Boothroyd Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or k ...
) and former Lord Speakers of the House of Lords (such as
Baroness Hayman Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or k ...
and Baroness D'Souza), who by convention are not aligned with any party, also sit as crossbenchers. There are also some non-affiliated members of the House of Lords who are not part of the crossbencher group; this includes some officers, such as the Lord Speaker, and others who are associated with a party but have had the
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
withdrawn. Although non-affiliated members, and members of small parties, sometimes physically sit on the crossbenches, they are not members of the crossbench parliamentary group. An "increasing number" of crossbenchers have been created peers for non-political reasons. Since its establishment in May 2000, the House of Lords Appointments Commission has nominated a total of 67 non-party-political life peers who joined the House of Lords as crossbenchers. There are currently crossbenchers, composing approximately of the sitting members in the House of Lords, and only exceeded in number by Conservatives in the Lords. From April 2007 to 2009, the number of crossbenchers was higher than the number of Conservative peers for the first time. Although the
Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...
(archbishops and senior bishops of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
) also have no party affiliation, they are not considered crossbenchers and do not sit on the crossbenches, their seats being on the Government side of the Lords Chamber. Parties supporting a minority government in a confidence and supply agreement in the House of Commons, such as the
Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
in the 2017-2019 Parliament, are not considered crossbenchers. Instead, along with all other non-governing parties, they are considered part of the opposition and sit on the opposition benches.


Convenor

The crossbenchers do not take a collective position on issues, and so have no
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
s; however, they do elect from among themselves a convenor for administrative purposes, and to keep them up to date with the business of the House. The current convenor is The Lord Judge, who took the office in October 2019. While convenors are not part of the " usual channels" (i.e. the party whips who decide the business of the House), they have been included in their discussions in recent years. The following have served as Convenor of the Crossbenchers: * 1968–1974: The Lord Strang * 1974–1995: The Baroness Hylton-Foster * 1995–1999: The Lord Weatherill (Alternate Convenor 1993–1995) * 1999–2004: The Lord Craig of Radley * 2004–2007: The Lord Williamson of Horton * 2007–2011: The Baroness D'Souza * 2011–2015: The Lord Laming * 2015–2019: The Lord Hope of Craighead * 2019–present: The Lord Judge


Australia

The term refers to both independent and minor party members in the Federal Parliament of Australia as well as the Parliaments of the Australian states and territories. Unlike the United Kingdom, in Australia the term is applied to those parties and independents in both the lower and
upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
houses of parliament, who sit on the crossbench. The last few federal elections have seen an increase in the size and power of the crossbench in both houses of Parliament. The Australian Parliament as elected at the 2010 election was the first hung parliament in the House of Representatives since the
election of 1940 The following elections occurred in the year 1940. Africa * 1940 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1940 Philippine special election Europe * 1940 Moldavian parliamentary election * 1940 Swedish general election United Kingdom * ...
, with the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...
and the
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 ...
winning 72 seats each of 150 total. Six crossbenchers held the balance of power:
Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...
MP Adam Bandt and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie,
Rob Oakeshott Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...
and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply, Independent MP Bob Katter and National Party of Western Australia MP Tony Crook declared their support for the Coalition on confidence and supply. The resulting 76–74 margin entitled Labor to form a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
. The Australian Senate, which uses the Single Transferable Vote form of proportional representation to elect its 76-seat chamber, frequently has enough Senators on the crossbench that the governing party has to negotiate with it to get legislation passed. The 2 July 2016 double dissolution election, for example resulted in a chamber with the Liberal/ National
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 ...
having 30 seats, the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...
with 26 seats, the
Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...
with 9 seats, One Nation with 4 seats and the Nick Xenophon Team with 3 seats. The other 4 seats were each won by Derryn Hinch, the Liberal Democratic Party, Family First, and Jacqui Lambie. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20 (all but the ones of the LPA/NPA coalition and the ALP: 9+4+3+4). The Liberal/National Coalition government required at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority. Generally speaking, Senators broadly aligned with the Coalition (such as those affiliated with the Australian Conservatives, One Nation, the Liberal Democratic Party, and Derryn Hinch) sit on the same side of the crossbench as the Coalition benches, while those more aligned with Labor, such as the Greens, sit on the same side of the crossbench as the Labor benches. This tends not to be the case in the House of Representatives, both due to the different electoral system, which means fewer crossbenchers are elected, and the fact that the official government and opposition frontbenches extend across the inner rim of the entire hemicycle.


New Zealand

In the
New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...
, MPs from parties that are not openly aligned with either the government or the official opposition (such as those belonging to
New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...
from 2011 to 2017) are sometimes referred to as crossbenchers, but those who support the government in confidence and supply agreements are regarded as part of the government and sit on the government benches, and often receive official roles as ministers outside the cabinet or as parliamentary under-secretaries. From 2008 to 2017, ACT New Zealand, Te Pāti Māori and United Future MPs supported the minority National Party government. As such, these MPs were not considered to be crossbenchers or part of the opposition, as they were represented within the government.


Similar concepts in Canada

The term "crossbencher" is generally not used for the federal
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
or any of the provincial or territorial legislatures. Instead, any party that is not the governing party is an "opposition party", with the largest of these designated the ''official'' opposition (and their leader is designated
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 ...
). Opposition parties other than the official opposition are typically called third parties. In 2022 the “official opposition” is the Conservatives; the bloc Québecois, the NDP, and the Greens are the opposition. Beginning in 2016, multiple non-partisan caucuses which fulfill a similar purpose as crossbenchers were formed in the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
. The first, the
Independent Senators Group The Independent Senators Group (ISG; french: Groupe des sénateurs indépendants) is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. Established on March 10, 2016, the Independent Senators Group (ISG) is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the ...
(ISG), was created partly as a response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to appoint more non-partisan Senators. Similar to crossbenchers in the UK, the ISG chooses its own leader and does not use a whipping system. In December 2016, the Senate began to officially recognise the ISG and provide it with funding. Two additional groups were established in 2019: the
Canadian Senators Group The Canadian Senators Group (french: Groupe des sénateurs canadiens) is a parliamentary group of senators in the Senate of Canada founded on November 4, 2019, by eight senators from the Independent Senators Group, two from the Conservative Part ...
(which primarily focuses on regional issues) and the
Progressive Senate Group The Progressive Senate Group (french: Groupe progressiste du sénat) is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. It was formed on November 14, 2019, out of the now-defunct Senate Liberal Caucus, which had been expected to lose official pa ...
(formed by members of the defunct Senate Liberal Caucus). The Canadian Senate in 2022 generally aspires towards non-partisanship. Non-affiliated members outnumber members affiliated with a political party, and the Liberal Caucus in the Senate was dissolved in 2019.


See also

*
Backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
* Frontbencher * :Crossbench peers * Third party


References

{{Reflist


External links


Crossbench Peers – Official SiteBBC Politics – Crossbench PeersUK Parliamentary Archives, Records of Crossbench Peers
House of Lords Australian Senate Organizational structure of political parties