Recalling the 2010 debacle when Brown did not immediately resign and was accused of being a squatter, I tried to look up what the procedure is. I had a vague idea but wasn't clear.
I was amazed to learn that our constitution does not have any written rules. (There are some civil service guidelines so government functions during and after the election.) The role of Prime Minister is not defined. It is the leader of the party that commands a majority in Parliament and has been invited to form the Sovereign's government (it's her government, we only vote for our representatives). So Nigel Farage could be Prime Minister if Liz thought he could command a majority in Parliament. So those who think they've voted for a Prime Minister are under an illusion.
Party winning election means nothing technically. So the loser can wait until Parliament is convened and carry on until they can't command a majority, which is why a vote of confidence is so a big deal. I always wondered why not being "confident" was such an issue.
Some probably already knew this, but I found it enlightening and likely to crop up in conversation in a few months time.
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Luzon would have been in charge within 2 days (work permit permitting)
My predictions
Conservative largest party but short of a majority
labour lose out a lot in Scotland as referendum backlash
snp gain in Scotland
UKIP pick up between 5 and fifteen seats with a lot of seconds and thirds
lib dem drop back to the bare minimum
*Now that I've thought about it I may be mistaken but can't be bothered to check if true.
Scotland will truly be running the (dis)UK then. England will be even further sidelined.
1. Conservatives remain the largest party, but with no over-all majority. Would the LibDems throw their hands in with the Tories again? Possibly not. Or, not without eliciting some major, left-of-centre concessions. And probably a demand for more seats in the cabinet this time, instead of the current five.
2. Labour become the largest party, but without over-all majority. If they could form a rainbow coalition (Greens. Plaid Cymru, others) without the SNP, they would do. But, if they had to make a pact with SNP, there's only one thing on the table as far as the Nats are concerned: another referendum on the Scottish independence. (From my point of view, I wanted Scotland to stay part of the UK. But if they get granted another referendum so soon after voting "no", I'd be all for a "yes" this time round. Otherwise, we'd just be in for referendum after referendum until they say "yes").
3. Labour running a minority government. This is where Labout is the biggest party, but cannot form a majority and go ahead without a formal agreement. Thanks to Cameron's stupid fixed-term Act, we could potentially have a minority government, with Miliband as PM, yet every vote would be down to whatever concessions the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Greens and others could squeeze out of the government.
4. Conservatives become the second-largest party, but without Labour being able to form either a minority government. In this case, Cameron could go it alone, as the incumbent PM. He would write the Queen's Speech. After she's delivered it, if his Government wins the vote that follows it, he's in. We'd have a Conservative Government with fewer MPs than the Labour Party. And we'd be stuck with it, so long as he can secure more than 33% of the vote in a vote of no confidence. Utter madness!
5. Then there's the nuclear scenario. The Conservatives pitch in with Farage's mob to form a Kipper-con coalition. In which case, whoever's last out of the country, can you please turn the lights off? Thanks!
We riot and demand hiving off Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as a prerequisite to getting our vote. RumpUK then gradually stews, slowly in its own insolvent, unsubsidised juice.
Utopia beckons - we just have 5 years of pain before the gain! (Right I'm back to the booze now, it's clearly working!)
Howard Stoat - A GP in Bexleyheath was an MP but has stood down from one or other of the jobs.
Perhaps the only party who say they are marginally different are UKIP although let's be honest, they're frozen out ex-Tories in purple ties.
I'm not voting for them either.
So I'm left without anyone to vote for. Sad and uninspiring situation for the younger generation.
Surely the onus should be on the two biggest parties to attempt to find enough common ground in order to govern?