Heading towards a Hung Parliament?
With the General Election 2010 coming up, the U.K is preparing itself for what could be the tightest election in many years. Opinion polls show that the election is likely to result in 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 the MPs in the House of Commons. It means that the government will not be able to pass laws without the support of other, smaller parties. The way in which a hung parliament happens works like this:
1) If one party has an ‘absolute majority’ in the House of Commons, it means that it has more MPs than all the parties put together.
2) If no party has an absolute majority when the election results are announced, then there is a hung parliament. The party who has the most MPs will still form the government but if all the other parties join together they can outvote the government when everyone votes to pass a law.
3) The party with the most MPs can try to persuade smaller parties to support them. They may want to do this before the government is formed (by creating what is called a ‘coalition government’) or each time that there is a vote on a law.
4) In this general election, Labour would lose its absolute majority if it lost 24 seats (24 MPs).
5) The Conservatives would have an absolute majority if they won an additional 116 seats.
6) The Liberal Democrats would need to win an extra 264.
7) Any result in-between would leave the country with a hung parliament.
8) Smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats would have a great deal of negotiating power because Labour or the Conservatives would need their support to stay in government.
Who would you vote for? Do political parties speak to young people? Why do you think so few people vote? What are your big issues on the election? To have your say on these issues, sign-up to the HeadsUp forum now, where you can discuss your thoughts along with other students, teachers and MPs until 14th May 2010.
Is your school taking part in one of our Y Vote mock elections? If so, be sure to vote and have your say. The results come to us, and you can log on to the site from Friday 14th May 2010 and see how your results compare with the results of the General Election.
1) If one party has an ‘absolute majority’ in the House of Commons, it means that it has more MPs than all the parties put together.
2) If no party has an absolute majority when the election results are announced, then there is a hung parliament. The party who has the most MPs will still form the government but if all the other parties join together they can outvote the government when everyone votes to pass a law.
3) The party with the most MPs can try to persuade smaller parties to support them. They may want to do this before the government is formed (by creating what is called a ‘coalition government’) or each time that there is a vote on a law.
4) In this general election, Labour would lose its absolute majority if it lost 24 seats (24 MPs).
5) The Conservatives would have an absolute majority if they won an additional 116 seats.
6) The Liberal Democrats would need to win an extra 264.
7) Any result in-between would leave the country with a hung parliament.
8) Smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats would have a great deal of negotiating power because Labour or the Conservatives would need their support to stay in government.
Who would you vote for? Do political parties speak to young people? Why do you think so few people vote? What are your big issues on the election? To have your say on these issues, sign-up to the HeadsUp forum now, where you can discuss your thoughts along with other students, teachers and MPs until 14th May 2010.
Is your school taking part in one of our Y Vote mock elections? If so, be sure to vote and have your say. The results come to us, and you can log on to the site from Friday 14th May 2010 and see how your results compare with the results of the General Election.
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