Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 81
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act is compatible with the confidence principle and has not divorced confidence...
Conclusion
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act is compatible with the confidence principle and has not divorced confidence from dissolution. If the House of Commons wanted to trigger dissolution by removing confidence from the Government, it has that power under the Act. However, as was seen last year, the Act has created a situation where the Government can lose the confidence of the House, but the House is not prepared to trigger an election or support an alternative government. This is an unacceptable situation as it leaves the UK without a government that has the legitimate authority to govern. The ultimate responsibility for this situation under the Fixed term Parliaments Act rests with the House of Commons.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government provided no substantive response to the committee's conclusion about the FTPA's compatibility with the confidence principle and the resulting unacceptable situations.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
81
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
8 Sixth Special Report of Session 2019-21
Read the full response on Parliament ↗