Early elections?

[ewx]

[Poll #1042148]

For the avoidance of doubt by "always" I mean "always", i.e. no early elections as well as no late elections. So don't tick both that and any of the early-election options unless you really do think that fundamental constitutional laws should be self-contradictory!

Comments

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I think the people who ticked both "Parliament should always last five years" and one of the "...should be able to call an early general election" are somewhat confused?

[gareth-rees.livejournal.com]

Early elections are pretty much an inherent feature of the Westminster system; certainly Canada and Australia allow the governing party to call an early election.

If early elections were constitutionally ruled out, how would we deal with an executive that had lost the confidence of Parliament? In the US, the executive has its own spheres of power and responsibility, so it can govern without the legislature. But in our system there's no such split, and if no party can gain the confidence of Parliament then new elections are surely the only way forward.

[mooism.livejournal.com]

I voted that “The Commons should be able to vote for an early general election”, but I think it should require at least a 2:1 majority. An early election should not happen simply because the ruling party thinks it would win an election if held soon, but sometimes it is helpful to the country.