Making minority government work Professor Robert Hazell The Constitution Unit, University College London IPPL conference, Toronto 13 November 2009

Minority government 1900-2000

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

Lessons from minority government in other Westminster parliaments Canada: 10 minority govts 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. Wales 1999-2000 and 2005-07 Australian states and Canadian provinces

Recent Lessons from minority government in Canada Major parties still hope to gain an overall majority PM Harper governed in majoritarian way Requests to Governor General to dissolve Parliament in Sept 2008 and prorogue Parliament in December Government has got most of its legislation through Media portray minority government as inherently unstable Would the Liberals in a new minority parliament choose to form a minority government?

Lessons from minority government in New Zealand 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 Minor party ministers are not bound by collective responsibility, but are bound by confidentiality Strong civil service guidance on constitutional conventions in the Cabinet Manual

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 Opposition parties have not wanted to trigger early election. Two thirds threshold for dissolution

Lessons for Prime Minister and government Do not govern in a majoritarian way Accept likelihood of frequent parliamentary defeats Prepare media and public for these defeats, so not seen as issues of confidence Set out clear strategy and long term goals When advising the Crown, put aside party interest

Civil Service must be prepared For caretaker government, with clear caretaker convention To support negotiations between the parties For different possible combinations of minority and/or coalition government For relaxation of collective Cabinet responsibility, but not confidentiality To develop a clear set of rules to which all players subscribe

Lessons for Parliament Parliament cannot make policy, or force government to do anything against its will Relax government domination of the timetable? Government legislation won’t diminish. But its passage will take longer, and it will be more heavily amended Budget still dominated by government. Opposition parties will negotiate changes, need expert support Contested procedural rulings, pressure on Speaker

Lessons for the opposition parties Lack of government majority does not mean there is an opposition majority Difficult to coordinate ‘the opposition’ against the government, or bring government down Can influence government policy through bilateral deals Hold out for stronger research and policy support Consider supply and confidence agreements to preserve parties’ distinct identity

Lessons for the Crown Mystique about government formation risks drawing Crown into controversy Need clear rules to explain it is not Monarch’s role to form a government, or facilitate negotiations Decision to form a government must be reached by politicians PM then advises who can command confidence Investiture vote to elect new PM would be more direct test of confidence than Queen’s Speech

Lessons for Westminster? Minority government strengthens Parliament vis-à-vis the Executive Government has to construct majorities for each bill Tighter whipping likely in the 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. Government defeated in one third of votes in the Lords

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 The opposition parties are encouraged to behave responsibly, and supported in parliament to do so It is not frightened of an election, and is doing well in the polls The PM does not seek to govern in a majoritarian way

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