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What happens when there is a hung Parliament?

• A hung parliament is one in which no party has an overall majority, whichmeans no party has more than half of MPs in the House of Commons1.

• In the simplest terms, the Labour Party will lose its absolute majority if itloses 24 seats and the Conservatives will gain an absolute majority if itgains 116 seats. Any result in between will result in a hung parliament.

• The Prime Minister and his administration are formally ‘caretakers’ right upuntil a new government is formally in place. Even Ministers who lose theirseats in the campaign will continue to serve in this caretaker capacity.

• Purdah (the period of restricted activity during the election campaignwhere public resources must not be used for party political purposes) isextended until a new administration is formed. This applies both to the civil

service and the caretaker Government.

• The leader of the largest party has no automatic constitutional right to becalled upon first by the Queen to attempt to form a Government. The keyquestion is which party can command the support of a majority in theHouse of Commons through any combination of a formal or informalcoalition or by governing as a minority government.

• The new Parliament will sit for the first time on Tuesday 18 May and itsfirst task is to elect a new speaker. Following this, all MPs formally havethe oath administered. The entire process can take several days, allowingmore time for negotiations to take place between the parties attempting to

form a government.

• The key test of any fledgling administration follows this when it has topresent its programme in the Queen’s Speech. In practice, this usuallytakes place in the second or third week following the election, though itcould be pushed back a further two weeks.

• Technically, there does not need to be any agreement or resolution untilthe date of the Queen’s speech, currently pencilled in for 25th May.However, the fact that this would be the first hung Parliament since theadvent of the 24 hour news culture means that the pressure on the partiesto come to an agreement in the first few days after the election will beparticularly intense.

• Defeat for the Government in the Queen’s Speech debate would betantamount to a vote of no confidence (as occurred when StanleyBaldwin’s government was defeated after the King’s Speech in 1924). Avote of no confidence typically results in the resignation of the currentadministration allowing other parties to attempt to form a coalition or a newgeneral election.

1Analysis taken from Insight Public Affairs Briefing A Hung Parliament – What happens Next? 

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Implications of a hung Parliament for the voluntary and communitysector?

• We have some experience of hung parliaments and minorityadministrations in this country. Both Scotland and Wales currently operatewith minority administrations, as do a number of countries on thecontinent, and historically it is not unheard of at Westminster. Over thepast 120 years, we have had six minority Governments and four periods ofcoalition rule.

• If an administration can be formed it’s likely that any arrangements couldbe incredibly insecure. Businesses, local authorities and charities are likelyto be unable to take long-term decisions due to the large degree ofuncertainty.

•

Many people also suggest financial markets will panic if no single party isreturned with an overall majority, pushing up interest rates. Others arguethat a fiscal consolidation budget approved by more than one of the mainparties could, paradoxically, enjoy greater public consent.

• The pace of legislation being passed could slow down significantly – thiscould be beneficial as it would be more time for scrutiny and influencing.

• However in the short term, the success of the coalition largely rests ondegree of agreement between the parties forming the coalition. It ispossible that a coalition government could govern for around two yearsbecause it is unlikely the political parties will wish to fight another general

election so soon after this one – particularly due to financial constraints. • A hung parliament does not mean that the voluntary and community sector

should disengage in the expectation of a second election in the near future- If we want our issues to be counted and taken forward we will quicklyhave to position ourselves within the political agenda regardless of politicalpersuasion.

Useful links

A Hung Parliament – What Happens Next? Insight Public Affairs

BBC Q & A What is a Hung Parliament? 

Cabinet Office Draft Document setting out the existing rules and process forelections and the formation of Governments, February 2010

Hung Parliaments: What You Need to Know’, The Institution for Government,2010