For and against fixed-term parliaments
Should we remove the right of prime ministers to dissolve parliament and call an election?
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is considering electoral reform, which may include fixed-term parliaments.
Arguments for• Whispers in the media over whether a prime minister plans to call an election this autumn represents a diversion from the real business of government.
• Leaving the choice of the timing to the Prime Minister - with the proviso that there has to be an election within five years of the last one - gives the party in power an unjustifiable advantage. It enables the government of the day to manipulate events and to seize on any temporary blip in its favour in the polls.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
• Fixed-term parliaments would help to redress the balance between the Commons and the Executive, at present biased in favour of the latter.
• Westminster considered fixed-term parliaments to be good enough for the devolved parts of the UK. If it's right for the Scottish parliament and the Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, it is surely right for Westminster itself.
• Elections for the European parliament and for local authorities here are also held on fixed appointed dates. The Prime Minister's freedom to use the Royal prerogative at a time of his choosing is an anomaly.
Arguments against• If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Our present flexible system has worked well for centuries.
• Where you have fixed-term parliaments, everything grinds to a halt in the year leading up to the election date as governments tailor their policies accordingly.
• The flexibility of the present system allows for a dissolution and new election if the Government has an inadequate majority. The value of this has been shown in 1951, 1964 and the second election in 1974.
• The Royal Prerogative to dissolve parliament on the advice of the Prime Minister is an essential element in the British constitution.
• There is no evidence that fixed-term elections in, for example, the USA make for better government.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is Marjorie Taylor Greene finished?
Talking Point Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson failed, but it still left many of her fellow Republicans furious
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Google unveils 'AI overviews' atop search results
Speed Read Users of the search engine in the US will now get AI-generated answers first
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Georgia erupts in fury as 'Russian law' passes
Speed Read The "foreign influence" bill is reminiscent of legislation Putin previously passed, with the intent to silence critics
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
How the biggest election year in history might play out
The Explainer Votes in world's biggest democracies, as well as its most 'despotic' and 'stressed' countries, face threats of violence and suppression
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Good democracies include their poorest citizens. The UK excludes them'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published