YL
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Post by YL on Feb 20, 2024 22:58:10 GMT
Well whatever someone’s views on it are it’s certainly had an impact. I haven’t looked at the exact numbers but it must be at least a significant percentage of the by-elections this parliament that have now come about from recall or MPs resigning before facing the petition process? There have been just two actual recalls (Rutherglen & Hamilton West, Wellingborough) this Parliament but I count six who resigned when facing it (Hartlepool, North Shropshire, City of Chester, Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Somerton & Frome, Tamworth). I don't count Wakefield as the sentence was over a year so it met the higher threshold for automatic expulsion, and I doubt there would have actually been a petition in Tiverton & Honiton. So 8/22. |
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Post by iainbhx on Feb 20, 2024 22:59:24 GMT
To shame the Conservatives it may be that as soon as it is possible to do so, assuming that the recall process needs to be activated, Labour might move the writ for a by-election just to force the issue. But the Government would be likely to block it or vote it down. Surely the Government could not oppose the expressed Will of The People. Or does that only apply to whatever their haruspices divine from the entrails of the 23rd of June 2016. |
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graham
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Post by graham on Feb 20, 2024 23:51:52 GMT
But the Government would be likely to block it or vote it down. Surely the Government could not oppose the expressed Will of The People. Or does that only apply to whatever their haruspices divine from the entrails of the 23rd of June 2016. I doubt that opposing the will of the likely 10% - 15% of the electorate likely to have voted will bother the Government too much somehow! |
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Feb 21, 2024 11:28:16 GMT
You were equally insistent the government would try these tricks with Kingswood and Wellingborough, they didn't really.
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Post by minionofmidas on Feb 21, 2024 11:47:41 GMT
It feels like there’s been so many recalls that at this stage it may not come across to people as the significant news it generally has been You can replace recalls with by-election seat losses in this sentence. |
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graham
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Post by graham on Feb 21, 2024 12:06:51 GMT
You were equally insistent the government would try these tricks with Kingswood and Wellingborough, they didn't really. It was not a case of being 'insistent' at all - rather simply pointing out that if Sunak calls an election for May 2nd , there was no need to hold last week's by elections. Were he now to do so, Tory MPs could reasonably ask 'Why on earth did you move the writs?' It would certainly suggest a clear lack of political 'nous.' Nor would it amount to a 'trick' - in that there is no requirement for by election writs to be moved as soon as a seat becomes vacant. A fairly recent convention is that writs be moved within 3 months of a vacancy arising. However,Lord Lambton resigned as MP for Berwich upon Tweed in mid-May 1973 - the by election to elect his successor - Alan Beith - did not occur until early November!
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stb12
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Post by stb12 on Feb 21, 2024 12:22:33 GMT
If a General election ends up being called close to the by-election date then it can just be cancelled like the 2017 Manchester Gorton one presumably?
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Feb 21, 2024 13:10:15 GMT
That is a possibility, though it would likely require a June GE. Any realistic later date and the byelection is likely to go ahead (assuming recall passes)
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graham
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Post by graham on Feb 21, 2024 13:10:34 GMT
If a General election ends up being called close to the by-election date then it can just be cancelled like the 2017 Manchester Gorton one presumably? Unless Polling Day for the by election is earlier than the date of Dissolution. The Liverpool Edge Hill by election went ahead at the end of March 1979 despite the fall of Callaghan's governmen a day earlier. |
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stb12
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Post by stb12 on Feb 21, 2024 14:14:08 GMT
If a General election ends up being called close to the by-election date then it can just be cancelled like the 2017 Manchester Gorton one presumably? Unless Polling Day for the by election is earlier than the date of Dissolution. The Liverpool Edge Hill by election went ahead at the end of March 1979 despite the fall of Callaghan's governmen a day earlier. I can’t find the exact dissolution date of 2017 but the Gorton by-election was scheduled for early May and the General Election happened early June so about a month’s gap there That 1979 scenario would obviously have been too late to cancel that by-election so clearly it depends exactly when things fall if Sunak really is considering a May/June poll |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 21, 2024 14:37:06 GMT
Key points in the Manchester Gorton timetable.
26 February: Sir Gerald Kaufman died
28 March: Writ moved
18 April: Prime Minister announces a general election
20 April: Commons approves a writ of supersedeas to cancel the byelection
27 April: Prorogation of the session
3 May: Dissolution of Parliament
4 May: Originally intended polling day
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Post by johnloony on Feb 21, 2024 15:27:22 GMT
Key points in the Manchester Gorton timetable. 26 February: Sir Gerald Kaufman died 28 March: Writ moved 18 April: Prime Minister announces a general election 20 April: Commons approves a writ of supersedeas to cancel the byelection 27 April: Prorogation of the session 3 May: Dissolution of Parliament 4 May: Originally intended polling day It is a bit odd that it was necessary for a writ of “supersedeas” (one of those words which exist in legalese but not in real life) to be issued, and that the by-election wasn’t just abolished automatically by the dissolution of parliament. If the writ hadn’t been issued, the local authority could reasonably have just abandoned the by-election anyway and not done it, without any realistic chance of any adverse consequences. |
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stb12
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Post by stb12 on Feb 21, 2024 15:42:49 GMT
There should room for some common sense in those scenarios as well you’d think
US House elections sometimes have special elections on the same day as the General Election meaning it’s two elections running simultaneously for the same seat and it seems bizarre. But considering the US system has the congressional session still running for a few weeks before the newly elected one is sworn in then it makes some level of sense as technically they need an election to see out that term
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Post by minionofmidas on Feb 21, 2024 15:44:39 GMT
Key points in the Manchester Gorton timetable. 26 February: Sir Gerald Kaufman died 28 March: Writ moved 18 April: Prime Minister announces a general election 20 April: Commons approves a writ of supersedeas to cancel the byelection 27 April: Prorogation of the session 3 May: Dissolution of Parliament 4 May: Originally intended polling day It is a bit odd that it was necessary for a writ of “supersedeas” (one of those words which exist in legalese but not in real life) to be issued, and that the by-election wasn’t just abolished automatically by the dissolution of parliament. If the writ hadn’t been issued, the local authority could reasonably have just abandoned the by-election anyway and not done it, without any realistic chance of any adverse consequences. indeed what possible point could a by election to a parliament that ceased legally existing the day before the election have? |
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Post by Wisconsin on Feb 21, 2024 16:03:29 GMT
There’s a couple of missing steps: 19 April - The Commons approves Mrs May’s request to have an early General Election. I can’t remember how, in law, the date of the election was fixed, but if I recall correctly the Commons didn’t/couldn’t formally approve a specific date. EDIT: Ah - it was this: 2(7): If [an early] parliamentary general election is to take place as provided for by subsection (1) or (3), the polling day for the election is to be the day appointed by Her Majesty by proclamation on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (and, accordingly, the appointed day replaces the day which would otherwise have been the polling day for the next election determined under section 1). The proclamation was made, and the date of the early general election was set, on 25 April 2017: www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2766748 |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 21, 2024 16:48:37 GMT
Key points in the Manchester Gorton timetable. 26 February: Sir Gerald Kaufman died 28 March: Writ moved 18 April: Prime Minister announces a general election 20 April: Commons approves a writ of supersedeas to cancel the byelection 27 April: Prorogation of the session 3 May: Dissolution of Parliament 4 May: Originally intended polling day It is a bit odd that it was necessary for a writ of “supersedeas” (one of those words which exist in legalese but not in real life) to be issued, and that the by-election wasn’t just abolished automatically by the dissolution of parliament. If the writ hadn’t been issued, the local authority could reasonably have just abandoned the by-election anyway and not done it, without any realistic chance of any adverse consequences. It wasn't technically necessary, but because the formal dissolution would have taken place a matter of hours before the polls were due to open, everyone in the constituency would have been legally obliged to continue with the procedure for the election knowing that it would all be pointless and end up going nowhere. The procedure allowing them to stop was the writ of supersedeas. Somewhere I have a list of previous occasions on which a supersedeas was issued. I think the most recent before Manchester Gorton was Berwick-upon-Tweed, on 8 July 1880. That was because the outgoing MP, who had been made a Peer, turned out not to have received his writ of summons at the time the byelection was called. |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 27, 2024 0:08:01 GMT
A motion to suspend Scott Benton for 35 days is on the Order Paper for later today. No debate and can be voted on after the moment of interruption.
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 27, 2024 19:09:18 GMT
The motion has just passed without a division so the recall petition is officially on.
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Harry Hayfield
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Post by Harry Hayfield on Feb 27, 2024 22:00:19 GMT
The motion has just passed without a division so the recall petition is officially on. The BBC report notes: "Any poll would be unlikely to occur until the end of April or the beginning of May" meaning that March 27th (the last date for a May 2nd general election) is likely to be the day that the media gather outside Downing Street in case |
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YL
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Post by YL on Feb 27, 2024 22:19:14 GMT
The motion has just passed without a division so the recall petition is officially on. The BBC report notes: "Any poll would be unlikely to occur until the end of April or the beginning of May" meaning that March 27th (the last date for a May 2nd general election) is likely to be the day that the media gather outside Downing Street in case As it takes two weeks to organise the petition and it is then open for six weeks the petition won't even close until late April (the 23rd I think) so any by-election is likely to be at the end of May or early June. |
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