Hung Parliament: What happens?‏ Brown can stay in power

Gordon Brown can remain Prime Minister if the General Election returns a hung Parliament. Where a Prime Minister loses his overall majority, and no other party has an overall majority, he can remain in office, says a Hansard Society and the Study of Parliament Group in a publication in March this year. http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/press_releases/archive/2010/03/11/what-happens-if-there-s-a-hung-parliament-march-11-2010.aspx

If he is defeated in a no confidence motion or an amendment to the Queen’s Speech, it is asumed the leader of the opposition (the next largest party) will become Prime Minister.

Their pamphlet - Who Governs? - examines what will happen if there is an hung election result.

The main findings are:

• Who won the general election may not be clear - the party with the most seats or the most votes? Which party has political momentum or moral authority to govern?

• The existing ‘caretaker’ Prime Minister has first call to form an administration.

• The possible Prime Ministers have the options to form an minority government, an informal agreement with one or more of the other parties, or set up a coalition.

• There is no time limit as to how long a leader can take to put together an administration. But the Queen’s Speech debate is the test when the administration must ‘meet’ Parliament and show it commands the confidence of the House of Commons.

• No matter what, the date of the new Parliament meeting was set when the previous Parliament was dissolved so it will go ahead.

• In the event of tied votes, the Speaker has the casting vote, except on Statutory Instruments and Business of the House motions.

• The monarch does not have powers to act as a broker between the party leaders. It is up to politicians to resolve.

Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme said, "In the event of an inconclusive election result, Parliament will be the 'theatre' in which the decisions of the political leaders play out.

"Our recent Audit of Political Engagement found that the public see Parliament as an institution with declining influence on their everyday lives. But a general election that results in no overall control will see renewed interest in Parliament as it moves centre stage.

"So it is vital that the public, politicians and the media understand the process and procedures that will influence the politicians in the decisions they may have to make after the election."

The authors:

* Robert Blackburn is Professor of Constitutional Law at King's College London.

* Ruth Fox is Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme and a member of the Executive Committee of the Study of Parliament Group.

* Oonagh Gay is chair of the Study of Parliament Group and a member of the Hansard Society Council. She has worked at the House of Commons Library for 27 years and is currently head of the Parliament and Constitution Centre.

* Lucinda Maer is a Senior Research Clerk in the House of Commons Library and a member of the Executive Committee of the Study of Parliament Group.