What happens when there is a hung Parliament?

• A hung parliament is one in which no party has an overall majority, which

means 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 it
loses 24 seats and the Conservatives will gain an absolute majority if it
gains 116 seats. Any result in between will result in a hung parliament.
• The Prime Minister and his administration are formally ‘caretakers’ right up
until a new government is formally in place. Even Ministers who lose their
seats in the campaign will continue to serve in this caretaker capacity.
• Purdah (the period of restricted activity during the election campaign
where public resources must not be used for party political purposes) is
extended 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 be
called upon first by the Queen to attempt to form a Government. The key
question is which party can command the support of a majority in the
House of Commons through any combination of a formal or informal
coalition or by governing as a minority government.
• The new Parliament will sit for the first time on Tuesday 18 May and its
first task is to elect a new speaker. Following this, all MPs formally have
the oath administered. The entire process can take several days, allowing
more 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 to
present its programme in the Queen’s Speech. In practice, this usually
takes place in the second or third week following the election, though it
could be pushed back a further two weeks.
• Technically, there does not need to be any agreement or resolution until
the date of the Queen’s speech, currently pencilled in for 25th May.
However, the fact that this would be the first hung Parliament since the
advent of the 24 hour news culture means that the pressure on the parties
to come to an agreement in the first few days after the election will be
particularly intense.
• Defeat for the Government in the Queen’s Speech debate would be
tantamount to a vote of no confidence (as occurred when Stanley
Baldwin’s government was defeated after the King’s Speech in 1924). A
vote of no confidence typically results in the resignation of the current
administration allowing other parties to attempt to form a coalition or a new
general election.

1
Analysis taken from Insight Public Affairs Briefing A Hung Parliament – What happens Next?
Implications of a hung Parliament for the voluntary and community
sector?
• We have some experience of hung parliaments and minority
administrations in this country. Both Scotland and Wales currently operate
with minority administrations, as do a number of countries on the
continent, and historically it is not unheard of at Westminster. Over the
past 120 years, we have had six minority Governments and four periods of
coalition rule.
• If an administration can be formed it’s likely that any arrangements could
be incredibly insecure. Businesses, local authorities and charities are likely
to be unable to take long-term decisions due to the large degree of
uncertainty.
• Many people also suggest financial markets will panic if no single party is
returned with an overall majority, pushing up interest rates. Others argue
that a fiscal consolidation budget approved by more than one of the main
parties could, paradoxically, enjoy greater public consent.
• The pace of legislation being passed could slow down significantly – this
could be beneficial as it would be more time for scrutiny and influencing.
• However in the short term, the success of the coalition largely rests on
degree of agreement between the parties forming the coalition. It is
possible that a coalition government could govern for around two years
because 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 quickly
have to position ourselves within the political agenda regardless of political
persuasion.

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 for
elections and the formation of Governments, February 2010
Hung Parliaments: What You Need to Know’, The Institution for Government,
2010