Political Question

[drplokta]

Suppose that the Tories manage to scrape together enough votes for a small majority, and form the next government, with the LibDems getting the second-highest number of votes but fewer than half as many seats as Labour (maybe 38% Conservative (327 seats), 28% LibDem (86 seats), 25% Labour (210 seats)). Who gets to be the official Opposition?

Comments

[aca.livejournal.com]

It's all down to seats held, much like the forming of government, so the lib dems would still be out in the cold.

[incy.livejournal.com]

Labour - the electoral system works on the number of MPs you have not the number of votes. Hence you end up with a majority of MPs with less then 50% of the vote.

[ceemage.livejournal.com]

Labour. Officially, it's up to the Speaker to determine the Leader of the Opposition, but it's always been done on seats. (OBException: During WWII, after the Labour front bench joined the coalition government, it was the senior Labour backbencher.)

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Labour. % votes counts for nothing currently, only seats.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

I have however seen the interesting suggestion that if Lab got back in with the most seats but no overall majority and made Brown leader again, so that he had never been elected or won a popular vote, that might be regarded as a constitutional crisis.

[drplokta]

But Brown has been elected, by the voters of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, in exactly the same way as Tony Blair was elected by the voters of Sedgemoor. We don't have a presidential system, and when you vote you are not voting for a Prime Minister but for an MP.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

I agree! I just saw it mentioned a bit. I think to be fair that although "wrong" we are edging towards a more presidential system ; the UK constitution, not being codified (not "not existing") does alter over time, this is one of its fascinating aspects.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Labout, minority governments like this happen all the time in Canada.

In 1993 the Bloc Quebecquois actually formed Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition since they had the second most seats in Parliament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_1993

How many seats is the Scottish National Party likely to get?