Questions tagged [parliament]
Questions related to that of a legislative, elected body of Government known as Parliament. Use this with a country tag if asking about a specific country's Parliament
99
questions
16
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How do Whips enforce control over MPs in the UK Parliament?
Whips are often used to 'persuade' MPs in their party to vote the way the Party wishes them to vote.
What power, or powers, do Whips have over backbench MPs to enforce this wish?
- 697
5
votes
1
answer
724
views
Is there a legal way to postpone or call off a general election in the UK due to concerns one way or another?
I'm asking this as a follow up question after this one when Steve Melnikoff raised an interesting point in the comments as to whether there was a legal mechanism to postpone or call off a general ...
- 8,457
34
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Why don't Sinn Féin take their seats in the UK parliament?
It seems that whatever happens (or happened) in a UK general election, the Irish nationalist party, Sinn Féin, will presumably always be in opposition.
This means that the British government - ...
- 2,757
31
votes
7
answers
8k
views
In parliamentary systems, why does the ruling party bother debating any legislation if they have enough votes to pass whatever they please?
As an example, in the UK the parliament gathers to debate legislation even if the ruling party has 50%+1 votes, which is sufficient to pass any legislation they please. In this scenario, what makes ...
- 52.7k
24
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Is there an optimal size of a parliament?
Are there any studies that have been done correlating size of the electorate (or in general the population) to size of parliament and stability criteria? I was wondering which size of a parliament is ...
- 5,421
20
votes
5
answers
7k
views
If the UK government doesn't ask for article 50 extension, can parliament do it instead?
The Guardian reported under the headline "Brexit: Gove refuses to rule out ignoring any law passed to stop no deal":
Michael Gove has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility that the ...
- 679
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can the Queen refuse to suspend the Parliament?
According to BBC in Government asks Queen to suspend Parliament:
The government has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September - and only a few weeks before ...
- 1,806
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are the limits of parliamentary privilege?
From what I understand, parliamentary privilege affords MPs and Lords freedom of speech without fear of prosecution within their respective Houses of Parliament.
I’ve only seen it come up into ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
15
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What is a Hung Parliament?
How is the Labour Party, with 57 fewer seats, able to still be in power in government?
Did the Labour Party hang Parliament?
- 3,964
8
votes
3
answers
629
views
If Parliament were prorogued for a long period, how would the government raise funds?
It is reported tonight that Dominic Raab, in his campaign to become leader of the Conservative Party, has indicated he would be prepared to prorogue Parliament. Presumably the purpose would be to ...
- 10.7k
7
votes
3
answers
842
views
How does the German Bundestag election system work?
Can someone describe for me if this election system is a majoritarian system or a system of proportional representation? And how does it work?
user23641
27
votes
2
answers
53k
views
Why do members in the British parliament yell "whooo....." during debates?
I sometimes watch BBC channel and see heavy debate in the British parliament. What interests me is, when one politician speaks about one policy and expresses his own view on something, some other ...
- 301
24
votes
4
answers
4k
views
What does "direct Spanish rule over Catalonia" actually mean?
According to the Independent:
Spain has announced it will impose direct rule over Catalonia, after
the region's leaders failed to meet a deadline to withdraw a
declaration of independence.
...
- 53.4k
21
votes
9
answers
9k
views
Has a party that won an election ever lost its leader in the process?
In a Parliamentary democracy, general elections appoint constituency representatives. Most such appointees are members of parties with internally determined leaders. One or more parties then form a ...
- 2,157
19
votes
1
answer
717
views
Is there a precedent indicating what happens when a UK Prime Minister advises a monarch not to give Royal Assent to legislation passed by Parliament?
A report from Buzzfeed claims that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is:
Exploring what the consequences would be if Johnson advised the Queen not to give royal assent to any legislation ...
- 293
18
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Why is proportional representation not considered in any of the US states?
While the Americans agree that the current two-party system is broken, I have not heard any real voices on changing it in any State. States like California, New York or Texas, which send large ...
user1413
18
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How do the Ausgleichsmandate in Germany's Bundestag election work?
I'm aware of How does the German Bundestag election system work? but it seems rather broad and none of the answers go into detail about the Ausgleichsmandate (or leveling seats as Wikipedia translates ...
JJJ♦
- 39.1k
10
votes
3
answers
582
views
Aren't, in practice, the executive and legislative powers oftentimes nearly unified?
As far as I'm aware, according to the theory of separation of powers, which is considered one of the foundations of democracy, prescribes the three government powers: executive, legislative, judiciary ...
- 241
8
votes
2
answers
428
views
How soon does the PM have to present a passed bill for royal assent?
How long can the UK government delay presenting an otherwise passed bill to the Queen for royal assent (could they perhaps delay it indefinitely to prevent it becoming law?).
Parliamentary pages I've ...
- 1,135
8
votes
7
answers
77k
views
How can some politicians become cabinet ministers without winning elections in India?
Smriti Irani and Arun Jaitley both lost the elections in the recent Lok Sabha elections in India, so how can they become cabinet ministers if they didn't even win the election? Mustn't one be a member ...
- 190
6
votes
3
answers
961
views
Could a Conservative leader who loses the party's confidence vote refuse to resign as Prime Minister?
At time of writing, a vote of no-confidence in Boris Johnson is due to happen on the evening of 2022-06-06 between 1800 and 2000, as more than 54 letters (15% of all Conservative MPs) have been ...
- 624
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
For how long will the UK government / parliament elected on December 12, 2019 remain (not counting other possible non-regular elections)?
For how long will the UK government / parliament elected on December 12, 2019 remain (serve?), if we're not counting any possible new non-regular elections?
Put in another way: When will the next ...
- 511
5
votes
2
answers
344
views
Was there a formal rebuke of NATO's expansion by the Russia Duma, before 2004?
The NYT took note in 2004 that parliamentary opposition to NATO's expansion was growing in Russia
While Russia has resigned itself to NATO's expansion, albeit grudgingly, the reality of NATO forces ...
5
votes
2
answers
278
views
What is the purpose of initiating the recent changes in the Russian Federation resulting in the "Russian Government Resigning"?
Recently (mid January 2020), there has been much press about the government of the Russian Federation "resigning".
From what I understand, these changes were initiated by current Russian Federation ...
- 1,516
5
votes
5
answers
732
views
Why isn't it mandatory for elected members of parliaments to have knowledge on the constitution?
In most democracies, elected members of parliament are representatives of people who elect them. They are also supposed to pass laws, make amendments and perform other functions. Being representatives,...
- 151
4
votes
1
answer
433
views
How are the members of the Indian upper house elected?
How are members of the upper house of the Indian parliament, the Rajya Sabha, elected or selected?
Are they elected by the direct vote of people? Or are they elected by the vote of lower house members?...
- 16.5k
4
votes
3
answers
260
views
Could the UK Parliament change the rules on prorogation by voting in a new law?
Boris Johnson controversially scheduled a prorogation of 34 days recently, which means that the UK Parliament won't be able to pass new laws at a critical time when the UK is about to leave the ...
- 52.7k
4
votes
3
answers
526
views
Writings or public statements advising elected politicians on how to make hard choices
While not always seen in this light, members of congressional or parliamentary bodies are regularly faced with moral choices when deciding how to vote in situations where the answers to questions like ...
- 16.9k
3
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is there a minimum time frame that a Prime Minister may set an early election for?
I know that the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 says that
Early elections can be held only:
if a motion for an early general election is agreed either by at least two-thirds of the whole ...
- 51.6k
3
votes
1
answer
143
views
Are all EP plenary vote results publically accessible? Where?
Recently I struggled to find the EP vote results in case of this regulation. Although it's marked as adopted on the EUR-LEX website, none of the related votes I could find on VoteWatch ended up ...
- 1,515
3
votes
1
answer
153
views
Do smaller parties have front- and backbenchers?
Are MPs belonging to parties that are neither in government, nor in Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, divide their MPs between frontbanchers and backbenchers? Or are essentially all the MPs for ...
- 48.6k
2
votes
3
answers
806
views
Do we know a lower bound or the exact number of 3-way races in France's 2nd round of elections in 2024?
As RFI claims & explains:
After Sunday's first round of voting, as many as 306 of the 577 seats in France's National Assembly could be decided in three-way races.
In the last parliamentary ...
2
votes
1
answer
762
views
Can a Prime Minister be appointed if they do not have a seat in the Parliament?
On December 12, 2019, UK will hold a general election. As stated in Wikipedia's 2019 United Kingdom general election:
The election is to be contested under the same boundaries for 650 ...
- 1,806
41
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Does the Brexit deal being voted down imply that Brexit is not going to happen?
Just looking at the TV and I am seeing that the British Parliament rejected the Brexit deal (cannot find an online source yet for this, although multiple sources show this vote result as very ...
- 53.4k
38
votes
4
answers
7k
views
How does Israel change its leaders without an election?
How does the Israel Constitution work in relation to the forming of a government? According to the Washington Post and the Times of Israel, Yair Lapid is supposedly creating a new government, and ...
user38056
35
votes
12
answers
11k
views
Why do most countries have so many members of parliament?
The US House of Representatives consists of 435 members; the UK parliament has 650 members; the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad has 300 members, etc.
Why so many people? Anyone who's, e.g., tried to ...
- 36.6k
32
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Why is the new German parliament 12 % bigger?
Before the
German federal election in September 2017,
the parliament (Bundestag) had 631 members; now it has 709 .
How did this come about?
Does it matter, or is it a second-order effect?
See also:
...
- 421
31
votes
6
answers
12k
views
What does the British parliament hope to achieve by requesting a third Brexit extension?
It appears that the UK will indeed ask for another extension in the Brexit process, as mandated by the Benn act. But what is the purpose of asking for another extension? Does Parliament expect the EU ...
- 52.7k
30
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Why can a bill be blocked by one MP saying the word "object"?
In regards to this story
"New upskirting law blocked by Tory MP"
A single MP in the Houses of Parliament can say the word “object” and prevent a bill being passed.
Why can one MP block proposed ...
- 1,351
26
votes
2
answers
5k
views
What does Nicholas Watt mean that May has “enough tellers for her Brexit vote”?
From journalist Nicholas Watt on Twitter:
With two Tory MPs supporting Theresa May’s deal she has one breakthrough: enough tellers for her #Brexit vote
I believe this is a reference to some system ...
- 48.6k
26
votes
2
answers
5k
views
What power does the Queen have in the event of a Hung Parliament?
Media reports that Mrs. May (Conservatives) is heading to the Queen soon requesting to form a government, even though her party has no majority. Corbyn & McDonnell (Labour Party) also want to ...
- 48.6k
22
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How does a British Prime Minister 'sack' Ministers?
I was reading another question and it got me thinking:
Are ministers protected by laws against unfair dismissal?
Under what circumstances can the PM 'sack' members of their cabinet?
What happens to a ...
- 537
21
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What happens if nobody can form a government in Israel?
It looks like nobody won a plurality in the latest round
Benny Gantz's Kahol Lavan is ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, according to official election results released on ...
- 51.6k
20
votes
2
answers
5k
views
In the UK, what is pairing?
In The Guardian on July 19 2018 I found this under the headline "Tory MP casts doubt on claim pairing breach was honest mistake as row escalates - Politics live".
Up to five Tory MPs were told to ...
- 1,113
18
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Where can I find which MEP voted for which laws?
As the title says. Specifically I am interested to know if my local Member of the European Parliament voted in favor or against the controversial copyright law that was rejected, but their personal ...
- 317
17
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Are there restrictions in the UK against calling politicians liars?
In the comedic New York Times video Jonathan Pie: 'Boris Johnson Is a Liar' | NYT Opinion at about 00:45 the character (speaking to a fictional New York Times interviewer) says:
Actually I can't say ...
- 16.9k
15
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Will the British Parliament prevent "Brexit"?
So today, the High Court ruled that the Parliament has to approve the British exit of the European Union. From what I see, this is their possibility to prevent Brexit and remain in the European Union -...
- 297
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Have there ever been Members of Parliament who weren't UK citizens?
According to the UK Parliament website the requirements for becoming an MP are extremely lax:
People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a ...
- 52.7k
14
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can the UK parliament just declare Rwanda a safe-country for asylum purposes?
Earlier today (15 Nov 2023) a UK Supreme Court ruling declared that the government policy of relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda was not permissible, due to the risk of relocation back to the ...
- 1,664
12
votes
2
answers
594
views
Why did the Knesset vote to dissolve itself after Netanyahu failed to form a majority coalition?
After the latest Knesset (Israeli parliament) elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was given the first chance to try to form a coalition government. However, he failed to do so by the deadline:...
- 226