Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Paragraph: 63
The two-thirds ‘super majority’ required to trigger an early election under the Act can, like...
Conclusion
The two-thirds ‘super majority’ required to trigger an early election under the Act can, like any statutory provision, be circumvented by passing an Act of Parliament to set an election date. As was made clear to the Committee the option of such a circumvention was clearly always contemplated as a possibility in certain circumstances, such as occurred in Autumn 2019. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means this will always remain a possibility. Attempting to entrench a ‘super majority’ would be a difficult, unnecessary and The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 33 potentially damaging move; the Committee advises against this being included in any proposals to replace the FtPA.
Paragraph Reference:
63
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The FTPA, in providing that a two-thirds majority is required to bring about an early general election, served to hinder the calling of elections, and as the events of 2019 demonstrated, led Parliament to legislate to circumvent this provision in the FTPA. The Government agrees therefore that a two-thirds majority is a particularly undesirable feature of the FTPA and considers the codification of the system of dissolution undermines the flexibility which is an essential and necessary part of our constitutional system. It is for this reason that the Government’s draft Bill repeals the FTPA and revives the prerogative powers relating to dissolution to enable a return to a tried and tested system which allows for the holding of necessary elections. Sixth Special Report of Session 2019–21 7