{{Short description|Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom}} {{Use British English|date=August 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox UK legislation |short_title = Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011{{efn|Section 7(1).}} |type = Act |parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom |long_title = An Act to make provision about the dissolution of Parliament and the determination of polling days for parliamentary general elections; and for connected purposes. |year = 2011 |introduced_commons = [[Nick Clegg]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] |introduced_lords = [[Lord Wallace of Tankerness]], [[Advocate General for Scotland]] |territorial_extent = [[United Kingdom]] |citation = [[List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 2011|2011]] c. 14 |royal_assent = 15 September 2011 |commencement = 15 September 2011{{efn|Section 7(2).}} |repeal_date = 24 March 2022 |amendments = |repealing_legislation= [[Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022]] |amends = {{ubli|[[Succession to the Crown Act 1707]]|[[Representation of the People Act 1867]]|[[Parliament Act 1911]]|[[Regency Act 1937]]|[[Representation of the People Act 1983]]|[[Representation of the People Act 1985]]|[[Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986]]|[[Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000]]|[[Elections Act 2001]]}} |replaces = [[Septennial Act 1715]] |related_legislation = {{ubli|[[Triennial Act 1640]]|[[Meeting of Parliament Act 1694]]|[[Parliament Act 1911]]|[[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]]}} |status = Repealed |original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/contents/enacted |revised_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/contents |legislation_history = https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-12/fixedtermparliaments.html |use_new_UK-LEG = yes }} {{United Kingdom constitutional formation}}
The '''Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011''' (c. 14) ('''FTPA''') was an [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] which, for the first time, set in legislation a default [[fixed-term election|fixed election date]] for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed by the [[Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022]]. Since then, as before its passage, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]] [[Advice (constitutional law)|advises]] the monarch to exercise the [[Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom|royal prerogative]] to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorally. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding [[Powers of the prime minister of the United Kingdom|power of the prime minister]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/9daf5278-e8cc-48f3-b690-b250a3b99e3b |title=Labour fears Johnson is preparing for a 2023 election |work=Financial Times |date=1 June 2021 |access-date=3 January 2022 |quote=The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced by David Cameron’s coalition government removed the longstanding power of the prime minister to call a general election and instead created what should normally be a five-year period between polls.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56297664 |title=Is axing fixed-term parliaments a good idea? |work=BBC News |date=7 March 2021 |access-date=3 January 2022 |quote=In 2011, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA) set the length of time between general elections at five years - and transferred the power to call an early election from the prime minister to MPs.}}</ref>
Under the FTPA, general elections were automatically scheduled for the first Thursday in May of the fifth year after the previous general election, or the fourth year if the date of the previous election was before the first Thursday in May. However, the FTPA also provided two ways to call an election earlier. One was a Commons [[Confidence motions in the United Kingdom|vote of no confidence]] in the government, which still required only a simple majority of voters. The other was a vote explicitly in favour of an earlier election, which required a qualified majority of two-thirds of the total membership of the Commons.<ref name=Meeks>{{cite web |url=http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2019/05/05/new-rules-britains-changing-constitution/ |title=New Rules. Britain's Changing Constitution |date=5 May 2015 |author=Alastair Meeks |website=PoliticalBetting.com |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> The first election under the FTPA was held on 7 May 2015. An early election was [[2017 United Kingdom general election|held in 2017]], after Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] received approval to call it by a two-thirds majority.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/02/europe-landslide-victory-theresa-may-brexit |title=Strengthen Our Hand in Europe? No, a Landslide for May Would Weaken It |date=2 May 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
Under the FTPA, the following general election was scheduled for 2022, but the [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]], passed with Opposition support, circumvented the FTPA, providing for [[2019 United Kingdom general election|an election on 12 December 2019]] while otherwise leaving the FTPA in place. The Conservative Party entered the election with a manifesto pledge to repeal the FTPA.<ref name="Con Man">{{cite web|url=https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative%202019%20Manifesto.pdf|title=Get Brexit Done: the Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019|website=Conservative and Unionist Party|page=48|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref> The resulting Conservative majority government, in fulfilment of its commitment, published on 1 December 2020 a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill to repeal the FTPA and revive the royal prerogative power of dissolving Parliament as it existed before the act.<ref name="FTPArepeal">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-fulfil-manifesto-commitment-and-scrap-fixed-term-parliaments-act|title=Government to fulfil manifesto commitment and scrap Fixed-term Parliaments Act|website=gov.uk|date=1 December 2020|access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> The repealing legislation was formally announced in the [[Queen's Speech]] of 11 May 2021,<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boris-johnson-bills-prime-minister-dominic-cummings-care-b934461.html|last=Blewett|first=Sam|title=A brief look at the Bills included in the Queen's Speech|newspaper=[[Evening Standard]]|date=11 May 2021|accessdate=11 May 2021}}</ref> and granted royal assent as the [[Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022]] on 24 March 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022: Progress through Parliament|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9308/|website=House of Commons Library|date=28 March 2022|first=Richard|last=Kelly}}</ref>
== Background == The [[Parliament of England]] originated as a board of advisors for the monarch, or ''[[curia regis]]''. As the king was able to summon Parliament at will, so could he [[dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|dissolve]] it by [[royal proclamation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030493780&view=1up&seq=10|title=An Essay on the Origin of the House of Commons|access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref> Events of the 17th century began to regulate the summoning and dissolution of Parliament; the [[English Civil War]] was in large part caused by the efforts of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] to rule without it. The [[Triennial Act 1640]] ([[16 Cha. 1]]. c. 1) was passed to require Parliament meet for at least one session every three years, providing for a failsafe mechanism should the king fail to issue the appropriate writs; this was replaced by the [[Meeting of Parliament Act 1694]] ([[6 & 7 Will. & Mar.]] c. 2), requiring annual sessions and a general election at least every three years.
The [[Septennial Act 1715]] ([[1 Geo. 1. St. 2]]. c. 38) increased the maximum lifespan of a parliament to seven years. The [[Chartists]] demanded annual parliamentary elections, which was the only demand of theirs that was not achieved by the early 20th century. The [[Parliament Act 1911]] ([[1 & 2 Geo. 5]]. c. 13) amended the Septennial Act by reducing the lifespan to five years.<ref name="ftpbcc-c3">{{cite web |author1=Fixed-term Parliaments Bill - Constitution Committee |title=CHAPTER 3: The length of the parliamentary term and election timing |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldselect/ldconst/69/6905.htm |website=www.parliament.uk |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref> These laws can be, and have been, abrogated in times of great crisis, in practice during both World Wars, whose respective parliaments lasted from [[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|1910]] to [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]] and from [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935]] to [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945]].
Despite these regulations, the [[royal prerogative in the United Kingdom|royal prerogative]] to dissolve Parliament within the bounds of law remained. Events of the 18th and 19th century reduced the monarch's personal power in politics in favour of that of his nominal advisor the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], such that by the 19th century prime ministers had a great deal of ''de facto'' control over the timing of general elections. The handing of such power to the prime minister was a convention rather than any formal law, and the monarch could (and, since the repeal of the FTPA, can) in theory refuse to grant such a request; the [[Lascelles Principles]] formulated in 1950 outline the possible scenarios in which such a refusal would likely be made.
The statutory lifespan referred to the lifetime of the parliament and not to the interval between general elections. For example, while John Major's government lasted four years, eleven months and two days; the period between the general elections of [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]] and [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] was five years and twenty-two days.<ref name="ftpbcc-c3" /> No parliament in practice ever reached this milestone outside of the World Wars, as it was always dissolved before its expiry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT_GS2zgN5QC&pg=PA187 |author=Anthony Wilfred Bradley, Keith D. Ewing |title=Constitutional and Administrative Law |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2006 |pages=187–189 |isbn=978-1-4058-1207-8}}</ref> The longest Parliament preceding the FTPA, other than during wartime, was the [[List of MPs elected in the 1992 United Kingdom general election|51st Parliament]] (1992–1997), which lasted four years, eleven months and two days.<ref>{{cite web|website=HITC|url=https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/10/28/7-longest-lasting-british-parliaments-how-long-will-this-one-las/|last=Wood|first=Richard|title=7 Longest-Lasting British Parliaments – When Will This One End?|date=26 October 2017|access-date=19 December 2020}}<!--need a better source--></ref>
The lack of a fixed parliamentary term allowed for the prime minister to decide when to hold an election solely on partisan grounds; it was also criticised for creating uncertainty before the calling of an election when such a calling was anticipated.<ref name=bbcqa>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11286879 |title=Q&A: Fixed-Term Parliaments |work=BBC News |date=13 September 2010 |access-date=4 May 2019}}</ref>
== Main parties' views ==
Until [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]'s manifesto made no mention of fixed-term Parliaments. The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] manifesto for 2010 said that it would introduce fixed-term Parliaments, but did not say how long they would be. The [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] manifesto for 2010 included a pledge to introduce four-year fixed-term Parliaments. The 2010 election resulted in a [[hung Parliament]], with the Conservatives having 306 MPs and the Liberal Democrats 57 MPs. The two parties negotiated a coalition agreement to form a government, and a commitment to legislate for fixed-term Parliaments was included in the coalition deal.<ref name=bbcqa /> The journalist [[John Rentoul]] has suggested that one of the subsequent coalition government's motives for passing the legislation was a concern about its own potential instability. In this view the legislation was intended to make it difficult for either coalition partner to force an early election and bring the government down.<ref name=Indy170617>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/how-george-osborne-lost-the-election-for-theresa-may-a7787726.html |title=How George Osborne and David Cameron Lost the Election for Theresa May |date=17 June 2017 |access-date=4 May 2019 |author=John Rentoul|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>
== Provisions == Section 3(1)<ref>{{cite act|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/section/3|title=Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011|year=2011|article=3|article-type=section|legislature=UK Parliament}}</ref> of the act originally stated<ref>{{cite act|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/enacted|title=Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011|year=2011|legislature=UK Parliament}} (as originally enacted)</ref> that Parliament should be automatically dissolved seventeen [[working day]]s before the polling day of a [[Elections in the United Kingdom|general election]]. This was subsequently amended by the [[Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013]] to twenty-five working days. Section 1 of the FTPA provided for the polling day to occur on the first Thursday in May of the fifth year after the previous general election, starting with 7 May 2015.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
The Prime Minister was given the power to postpone this date by up to two months by laying a draft statutory instrument before the House proposing that polling day occur up to two months later than that date. If the use of such a statutory instrument were approved by each House of Parliament, the Prime Minister had the power, by order made by statutory instrument under section 1(5), to provide that polling day occurs accordingly.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
Section 2 of the FTPA also provided for two ways in which a general election could be held before the end of this five-year period:<ref>{{cite news |title=Some Think Theresa May Should Call a General Election. Here's Why She Can't |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/25/theresa-may-call-general-election-fixed-term-parliaments-act-brexit |author=Scot Peterson |date=25 October 2016|newspaper=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> *If the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] resolved "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government" (a [[Motions of no confidence in the United Kingdom|motion of no confidence]]), an early general election would be held, unless the House of Commons subsequently resolved "That this House has confidence in Her Majesty's Government". This second resolution must be made within fourteen days of the first. This provision recognised that in a [[hung parliament]] it might be possible for a new government to be formed, commanding a majority. *If the House of Commons, with the support of two-thirds of its total membership (including vacant seats), resolved "That there shall be an early parliamentary general election". In either of these two cases, the Monarch (on the recommendation of the Prime Minister) appointed the date of the new election by proclamation. Parliament was then dissolved 25 working days before that date.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
Apart from the automatic dissolution in anticipation of a general election, whether held early or not, section 3(2) provided that "Parliament cannot otherwise be dissolved". The FTPA thus removed the traditional royal prerogative to [[Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|dissolve Parliament]],<ref name=Norton>{{cite web |title=Repealing the Fixed-term Parliaments Act? |url=https://nortonview.wordpress.com/2016/10/08/repealing-the-fixed-term-parliaments-act/ |author=Lord Norton of Louth |website=The Norton View |date=8 October 2016}}</ref> and repealed the Septennial Act 1715 as well as references in other Acts to the royal prerogative. The royal prerogative to [[Prorogation in the United Kingdom|prorogue]] Parliament – that is, to end a [[parliamentary session]] – was not affected by the FTPA.<ref>{{cite web|title=Proroguing Parliament|url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/proroguing-parliament|website=The Institute for Government|author=Joe Marshall|date=8 April 2019|access-date=13 May 2019}}</ref>
=== Review === Under section 7(4)–(6) of the FTPA the Prime Minister was obliged to establish a committee to review the operation of the FTPA and to make recommendations for its amendment or repeal, if appropriate. The committee was required to be established between 1 June and 30 November 2020, and the majority of its members must be members of the House of Commons. On 10 November 2020, the House of Commons ordered the establishment of a Joint Committee pursuant to the FTPA and appointed the Commons members of the Committee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act - Hansard|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-11-10/debates/2EF65043-F6D6-4BC0-9460-39E84EDC7039/JointCommitteeOnTheFixed-TermParliamentsAct|access-date=2020-11-17|website=hansard.parliament.uk}}</ref>
== Debate == When introducing the Bill that became the FTPA into the House of Commons, [[Nick Clegg]], then Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], said that "by setting the date that Parliament will [be] dissolve[d], our Prime Minister is giving up the right to pick and choose the date of the next general election—that's a true first in British politics."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10729454 |title=AV Referendum Question Published |date=22 July 2010 |work=BBC News }}</ref>
The government initially indicated that an "enhanced majority" of 55 per cent of MPs would be needed to trigger a dissolution, but this did not become part of the FTPA. Instead, the FTPA contained the two-thirds requirement.<ref>{{cite news |author=George Eaton|author-link=George Eaton (journalist)|title=Fixed-term Parliaments Won't Prevent a Second Election |url= http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/05/government-fixed-election |work=New Statesman |location= London |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=24 March 2014}}</ref>
Proposed amendments that would have limited the fixed term to four years, backed by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Scottish National Party|SNP]], were defeated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11771309 |title=Four-year Fixed-term Parliament Bid Defeated |date=16 November 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
Section 4 of the FTPA postponed the [[Scottish Parliament election]] that would have been held on 7 May 2015, moving the election day to 5 May 2016 to avoid it coinciding with the general election in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title= Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, section 4 |url= http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/section/4/enacted |publisher=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=8 April 2015}}</ref>
== Critiques == === Views of legal specialists === Robert Blackburn KC, a professor of constitutional law, stated that "the status and effect of a no-confidence motion remains largely as it was prior to the Act".<ref>{{cite web |title=Oral evidence - Status of resolutions of the House of Commons - 23 Oct 2018 Q100 |url=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/status-of-resolutions-of-the-house-of-commons/oral/91939.html |website=data.parliament.uk}}</ref> Alastair Meeks, however, a lawyer writing on the [[PoliticalBetting.com]] website, argued that, as well as removing the Prime Minister's ability to set an election date at a time of their choosing, the FTPA significantly affected the [[British constitution]]. It removed the ability of the Prime Minister to make a vote on a policy a matter of confidence in the government, a tool that minority governments and governments with small majorities have used to ensure that legislation is passed in the House of Commons. This put such governments at risk of remaining in power without an adequate ability to legislate, increasing the necessity of coalition government.<ref name=Meeks/>
[[David Allen Green]], a lawyer and journalist, and Andrew Blick, a legal academic, argued that the FTPA changed little in practice, since the Prime Minister could still, so long as a sufficient portion of the [[Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (United Kingdom)|Opposition]] agreed, schedule an [[snap election|election at their pleasure]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/17eda04e-ea24-359a-8c7e-d0caed79cb5e|last=Green|first=David Allen|title=The Fixed-term Parliaments Act has failed|work=Financial Times|date=18 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/whatever-happened-to-fixed-term-parliaments|last=Blick|first=Andrew|title=Good Idea, Bad Outcome: Whatever Happened to Fixed-Term Parliaments?|publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|date=17 May 2017}}</ref> Blick also argued that the use of a [[supermajority]] requirement for the House of Commons, which is very rare in UK law, represented a move towards [[entrenched clause]]s in the UK Constitution.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Blick|first=Andrew|title=Constitutional Implications of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011|journal=Parliamentary Affairs|volume=69|issue=1|pages=19–35|doi=10.1093/pa/gsv004|date=2016|quote=The UK has no written constitution. Yet entrenchment in some forms has had a part in UK constitutional conceptions. Moreover, in recent times this role has grown. Some precedent for supermajorities, for instance, has appeared through the provision in section 2 of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 for early general elections following support from two-thirds or more of MPs.}}</ref>
In 2017 Blick argued alongside [[Graham Allen (politician)|Graham Allen]], who chaired the [[Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee|House of Commons Select Committee on Political and Constitutional Reform]] during passage of the FTPA, that the FTPA had failed "to deliver on one of its main stated purposes ... to reduce the discretion possessed by the Prime Minister in being able to determine the date of general elections". Allen and Blick argued, however, that this was an "admirable objective" and proposed that instead of being repealed the FTPA should be amended to provide additional safeguards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/why-fixed-term-parliaments-seem-a-good-idea/|last1=Blick|first1=Andrew|last2=Allen|first2=Graham|title=Protecting Even Prime Ministers from Themselves: Why Fixed-Term Parliaments Seem a Good Idea |website=British Politics and Policy at LSE |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|date=12 July 2017|access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref>
=== Views of politicians === During the passage of the FTPA, Graham Allen stated on second reading that his committee had not received ample notice for adequate scrutiny of the Bill and that there were "so many flaws in the Bill's drafting".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Fixed-term Parliaments Bill - Hansard |journal=Hansard.parliament.uk |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2010-09-13/debates/10091315000001/Fixed-TermParliamentsBill#contribution-10091325000018 |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> It was also reported that Allen was critical that the committee had not had sufficient time to consider whether a four-year term would have been more appropriate than the five-year term stipulated in the FTPA.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-11261030 |title=Five-year parliaments 'too long'|agency=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=10 September 2010}}</ref> While he was still Chair of the Select Committee on Political and Constitutional Reform,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/the-uk-government-says-no-to-democratic-reform/|last=Allen|first=Graham|title=The UK government says no to democratic reform|website=Oxford University Politics Blog|date=28 May 2015|access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref> Allen wrote an essay in favour of codifying all the prerogative powers, and referred to his experience in challenging the prerogative powers of war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haseler|first1=Stephen|last2=Allen|first2=Graham|title=A Federal Constitution for a Federal Britain|location=London|publisher=Federal Reform Foundation|date=2014|isbn=978-1326112714}}</ref>
=== Views of political scientists === According to one political scientist, [[Colin Talbot]], the FTPA made [[minority governments]] more stable than in the past, since events that previously might have forced a government out of power{{mdash}}such as [[State Opening of Parliament#Debate on the speech|defeat of a Queen's Speech]] or other important legislation, [[loss of supply]], or a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister rather than the government as a whole{{mdash}}cannot formally do so.<ref name="talbot20150503">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/under-the-fixed-term-parliaments-act-a-minority-government-doesnt-need-a-confidence-and-supply-arrangement-to-be-able-to-govern/ |title=Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, a Minority Government Doesn't Need a 'Confidence and Supply' Arrangement to Be Able to Govern |publisher=London School of Economics |date=3 May 2015 |access-date=3 May 2015 |author=Talbot, Colin |author-link=Colin Talbot}}</ref>
[[Philip Norton|Lord Norton]], a Conservative political scientist, argued that the FTPA significantly limited the Prime Minister's ability to obtain an early election, since the Opposition could prevent an election by voting against it.<ref>{{cite web|website=Political Studies Association|url=https://www.psa.ac.uk/psa/news/we-need-talk-about-fixed-term-parliaments-act-2011-understand-theresa-mays-election-plans|title=We Need to Talk about the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 to Understand Theresa May's Election Plans|author=Lord Norton of Louth|date=18 April 2017}}</ref> This was borne out in 2019, as the Opposition blocked Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]]'s attempt to hold early elections on several occasions.<ref name=NoGenElec>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49584907|title=Boris Johnson's Call for General Election Rejected by MPs|work=BBC News|date=4 September 2019|access-date=5 September 2019}}</ref> An Act of Parliament for an early election (the [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]]) was then passed, with Opposition support, by a simple majority.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
=== Evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee (2019) === In September 2019 Junade Ali advised in written evidence to the [[House of Lords]] [[Constitution Committee]] that repeal of the FTPA should be pursued on the basis that, as [[A. V. Dicey]] noted, dissolution allows for the executive to appeal to the nation if it feels the House of Commons is no longer supported by the electors, allowing for the resolution of unforeseen constitutional crises by the electorate.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kirby|first=James|title=A. V. Dicey and English constitutionalism|journal=History of European Ideas|date=2019|volume=45|issue=1|pages=33–46|doi=10.1080/01916599.2018.1498012|s2cid=149849188|issn=0191-6599|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/279578|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Ali argued that "The very legislative chamber subject to dissolution being, in all circumstances, required to consent to such dissolution removes essential oversight in a sovereign Parliament that can make or unmake any law whatsoever".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ali |first=Junade|title=Junade Ali – written evidence (FPA0011)|journal=House of Lords Constitution Committee|date=26 September 2019 |url=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/constitution-committee/fixedterm-parliaments-act-2011/written/105791.pdf}}</ref> Ali reiterated his argument that even if the FTPA had codified prorogation powers, the executive could instead seek refusal of [[Royal Assent]] until an early election was called, which, Ali argues, "would likely cause far greater constitutional outrage" and codification would "threaten to transform political into constitutional crises"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/the-fixed-term-parliament-act-a-recipe-for-constitutional-crisis-and-prorogation|last=Ali|first=Junade|title=The Fixed Term Parliament Act: A Recipe for Constitutional Crisis and Prorogation?|website=Oxford University Political Blog|date=24 September 2019}}</ref> This view was supported in a submission by Robert Craig, who stated: "The main justification for the Act appears to reside in an erroneous view that the political power to call an election is inappropriate in a political constitution."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/constitution-committee/fixedterm-parliaments-act-2011/written/106415.pdf|last=Craig|first=Robert|title=Robert Craig, University of Bristol – written evidence (FPA0013)|publisher=House of Lords Constitution Committee|date=7 October 2019|access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref>
=== Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (2020–21) === A cross-party parliamentary Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, including 14 members of the Commons and 6 peers, was established on 27 November 2020 to review the operation of the Act and make recommendations as to its repeal or amendment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/491/joint-committee-on-the-fixedterm-parliaments-act/news/136739/joint-committee-on-the-fixedterm-parliaments-act-established-lord-mcloughlin-elected-as-chair-written-evidence-deadline-monday-4-january/|title=Joint Committee on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act established: Lord McLoughlin elected as Chair, written evidence deadline Monday 4 January|website=parliament.uk|date=27 November 2020|accessdate=5 May 2021}}</ref> Its report, published on 24 March 2021, concluded that the Act was flawed in several respects: the supermajority requirement imposed by the Act, the committee argued, risks "parliamentary gridlock" and "lacks credibility", as shown by the special legislation passed to circumvent the Act in 2019; the Act unduly circumscribed the powers of the Leader of the Opposition to bring forward motions of no confidence and of the government to declare issues to be matters of confidence; finally, the Act's definition of the 14-day period following successful motions of no confidence was unsatisfactory and may have allowed a government to force an election even in cases where an alternative government could be formed from the existing Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5190/documents/52402/default/|title=Joint Committee on the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act: Report|website=parliament.uk|date=24 March 2021|accessdate=5 May 2021|page=3}}</ref> The chair of the committee, Conservative [[Lord McLoughlin]], described the FTPA as "likely to be a short-lived constitutional experiment".<ref name="LawGazette24-03-21">{{cite web|url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/major-flaws-parliamentary-committee-backs-repeal-of-fixed-term-act/5107912.article|last=Slingo|first=Jemma|title='Major flaws': parliamentary committee backs repeal of fixed-term act|website=[[The Law Society Gazette]]|date=24 March 2021|accessdate=5 May 2021}}</ref>
== Implementation == === Election held after a full five-year term on date fixed by section 1 of the FTPA === <!--==== 2015 general election ====--> {{further|2015 United Kingdom general election}} The 2015 general election held on 7 May 2015 was the only use of the FTPA to dictate the date of a general election.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uberoi |first1=Elise |last2=Kelly |first2=Richard |title=The Fixed-term Parliaments Act |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/the-fixed-term-parliaments-act/ |website=House of Commons Library |date=14 January 2020 |access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref>
=== Election held after a two-thirds Commons majority for dissolution by section 2(1) of the FTPA === <!--==== 2017 general election ====--> {{further|2017 United Kingdom general election}} On 18 April 2017, Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] announced her intention to call a general election for 8 June 2017, bringing the United Kingdom's 56th Parliament to an end after two years and 32 days. The FTPA permitted this, but required two-thirds of the Commons (at least 434 MPs) to support the motion to allow it to be passed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm100705/debtext/100705-0001.htm#10070511000001|title= House of Commons Debate 5 July 2010 c 23|date=5 July 2010|access-date=8 September 2013|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref> [[Jeremy Corbyn]], then the [[Leader of the Opposition (UK)|Leader of the Opposition]] and the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] indicated that he was in support of an election. The motion was passed the following day by 522 votes to 13 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2017/apr/19/election-2017-theresa-may-mps-early-vote-politics-live|title= General Election 2017|date=19 April 2017|access-date=19 April 2017|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
As the FTPA required that general elections take place on the first Thursday in May, the date of the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|next general election]] after the 2017 election (assuming that no earlier elections were called) would have been 5 May 2022, meaning that the term would have been one month short of five years.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
=== Motions that did not result in an election === {{main|Motions of no confidence in the United Kingdom}}
==== 2018 proposed motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister ==== On 17 December 2018, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] tabled a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister, Theresa May. As this was not a motion of no confidence in Her Majesty's Government in the form set out in the FTPA, its passing would not have resulted in a general election being called. Arguing that this would have no effect because of the FTPA, May was able to call it a stunt and deny it any time for debate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.sky.com/story/downing-street-rules-out-parliament-time-for-corbyns-stunt-no-confidence-motion-in-may-11584524 |title=Downing Street Rules Out Parliament Time for Corbyn's 'Stunt' No-Confidence Motion in May |date=18 December 2018 |access-date=4 May 2019}}</ref>
The [[Scottish National Party|SNP]], the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Green Party of England & Wales|Green Party]] submitted an amendment to the motion that, if passed, would have changed the motion to meet the requirements of the FTPA. The government subsequently announced that the motion would not be given parliamentary time.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
The following day, 18 December 2018, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party tabled a new motion of no confidence in the Government in the form set down in the FTPA. This was the first such motion to be tabled under the terms of the FTPA.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Evening Standard|title=Brexit news latest: Opposition Parties Table Vote of No Confidence in Government|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-news-latest-opposition-parties-table-no-confidence-motion-in-government-a4020981.html|author=Sean Morrison|date=19 December 2018}}</ref>
==== 2019 motion of no confidence in the government ==== {{main|2019 vote of confidence in the May ministry}}
[[Jeremy Corbyn]], then the [[Leader of the Opposition (UK)|Leader of the Opposition]], tabled a motion of no confidence in [[Her Majesty's Government]] on 15 January 2019, after the House of Commons rejected Theresa May's draft agreement on [[Brexit]].<ref>{{cite news |title=What is a Vote of No Confidence? Could Jeremy Corbyn Spark a General Election after Brexit Deal Vote? How Does It Work? |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/vote-of-no-confidence-could-jeremy-corbyn-spark-a-general-election-after-tomorrows-brexit-vote-a4040016.html |newspaper=London Evening Standard |author=Sean Morrison |date=16 January 2019}}</ref> [[Ian Blackford]], the Westminster leader of the [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] supported the decision.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ian Blackford Says SNP Will Back Jeremy Corbyn's No-Confidence Motion |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17360184.ian-blackford-says-snp-will-back-jeremy-corbyns-no-confidence-motion/ |newspaper=Herald Scotsman |date=15 January 2019}}</ref> The motion failed, the ayes having 306 and the noes 325.<ref>{{cite news |title=May's Government Survives No-Confidence Vote |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46899466 |work=BBC News |date=16 January 2019}}</ref> [[Nigel Dodds]], Westminster leader of the [[Democratic Unionist Party|DUP]], which had a [[Conservative–DUP agreement|confidence and supply agreement]] with the government, expressed the opinion that it was in the national interest for his party to support the government in the motion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Supporting PM 'in the National Interest' Says Dodds Ahead of No-Confidence Vote |url=https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2019-01-16/supporting-pm-in-the-national-interest-says-dodds-ahead-of-no-confidence-vote/ |work=ITV News |date=16 January 2019}}</ref>
==== 2019 motions for a general election ====
[[First Johnson ministry|Boris Johnson's government]] attempted three times to call an early general election by means of section 2(2) of the FTPA. Each motion achieved a simple majority, but did not meet the two-thirds requirement because opposition parties abstained. Eventually Parliament passed the [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
===== First motion ===== On 3 September 2019, the government tabled a motion under the FTPA to trigger an early general election, requiring the votes of two-thirds of MPs. However, Labour refused to support the motion until legislation to delay a [[no-deal Brexit]] had been passed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brexit: PM in New Battle after Commons Vote Defeat|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49574217|date=4 September 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref> On 4 September, there were 298 votes for the motion and 56 against, with 288 abstentions, well short of the two-thirds supermajority required.<ref name=NoGenElec/> On 6 September, four opposition parties – Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and Plaid Cymru – agreed not to support any parliamentary vote for a general election until after the next [[List of European Council meetings|meeting of the European Council]], which was scheduled for 17–18 October 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brexit: Opposition Parties to Reject PM Election Move|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49609677|work=BBC News|date=6 September 2019|access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>
===== Second motion ===== On 9 September, another motion for an early election was tabled by the government. It failed by 293 votes to 46, with 303 abstentions<ref>{{cite news |last1=Diver |first1=Tony |last2=Sheridan |first2=Danielle |title=Brexit Latest News: Boris Johnson's Second Bid to Call General Election Fails as Parliament Prorogued |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/09/09/brexit-latest-news-boris-johnson-warned-senior-judges-trying/ |work=The Telegraph |date=9 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LIVE: Boris Johnson Fails for Second Time with Bid for Snap Election |url=https://news.sky.com/story/live-boris-johnson-fails-for-second-time-with-bid-for-snap-election-11805412 |work=Sky News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=No Snap Election: MPs Reject Johnson's Demand for Second Time |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mps-reject-boris-johnsons-demand-snap-election-second-004900833.html |work=uk.news.yahoo.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Boris Savages & Accuses Corbyn With Final Words Before Suspending Parliament For 5 Weeks |url=https://politicaluk.co.uk/2019/09/boris-savages-accuses-corbyn-with-final-words-before-suspending-parliament-for-5-weeks/ |access-date=24 December 2019 |work=politicaluk.co.uk |archive-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224042236/https://politicaluk.co.uk/2019/09/boris-savages-accuses-corbyn-with-final-words-before-suspending-parliament-for-5-weeks/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Parliament was [[prorogation|prorogued]] on the same day, until 14 October.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brexit: Boris Johnson's second attempt to trigger election fails|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49630094|date=10 September 2019|website=BBC News}}</ref> The prorogation [[2019 British prorogation controversy|was later deemed unlawful]] by the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]] and proceedings were resumed on 25 September.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/sep/24/boris-johnsons-suspension-of-parliament-unlawful-supreme-court-rules-prorogue|title=Boris Johnson's Suspension of Parliament Unlawful, Supreme Court Rules|first1=Owen|last1=Bowcott|first2=Ben|last2=Quinn|first3=Severin|last3=Carrell|date=24 September 2019|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/parliament-will-sit-tomorrow-at-1130am-john-bercow-says-a4244971.html|title=Bercow Tells MPs to Return to Parliament Tomorrow Morning|date=24 September 2019|newspaper=Evening Standard|last=Jarvis|first=Jacob}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/uk-parliament-resumes-prorogation-ruled-unlawful-190925155115983.html|title=UK Parliament Resumes After Prorogation Ruled Unlawful|website=Al Jazeera|last=Brennan|first=Paul|date=25 September 2019}}</ref>
===== Third motion ===== On 24 October 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to call a general election via a motion under the FTPA to be tabled on 28 October.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/24/jeremy-corbyn-refuses-back-election-no-deal-table/|last=Yorke|first=Harry|title=Labour in Chaos as Jeremy Corbyn Refuses to Back Election Even If Brexit Delayed Until Jan. 31|work=The Telegraph|date=24 October 2019|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref> Jeremy Corbyn, then Leader of the Opposition, indicated that he would support an election only if Johnson pledged to take a no-deal Brexit off the table.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/24/boris-johnson-to-ask-mps-to-back-pre-christmas-election|last1=Stewart|first1=Heather|last2=Boffey|first2=Daniel|title=Johnson Seeks 12 December Election After Shelving 'Do or Die' Brexit Pledge|work=The Guardian|date=25 October 2019|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref> On 28 October, the motion failed despite a vote of 299 to 70 because mass abstentions by the opposition prevented the forming of the two-thirds majority required under the FTPA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50213548|title=MPs Reject 12 December Election Plan|website=BBC News|date=28 October 2019|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/28/boris-johnson-third-attempt-general-election-fails|last=Mason|first=Rowena|title=Boris Johnson Fails in Third Attempt to Call Early General Election|work=The Guardian|date=28 October 2019|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref>
No further motions under the FTPA were attempted in the 2017–19 Parliament, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]] to the House of Commons on the same day, which triggered an election after it was passed.
== Circumvention in the 2019 general election == {{further|2019 United Kingdom general election}}
The [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]] was introduced on 29 October 2019 by Boris Johnson<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmagenda/OP191029.pdf|title=Order Paper No.10: Part 1|date=29 October 2019|website=House of Commons}}</ref> following the failure to secure an election by a two-thirds majority the previous day. The bill was fast-tracked through the House of Commons on the same day it was introduced,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newson |first1=Nicola |title=Early Parliamentary General Election Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages |url=https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/LLN-2019-0144 |date=30 October 2019}}</ref> the following day [[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]] ([[Leader of the House of Lords]]) introduced the bill in the House of Lords and it received its First Reading. The bill completed all stages the following day (30 October) without amendment and was presented to [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] for [[royal assent]]. In accordance with the [[Royal Assent Act 1967]], at 4:27 PM on 31 October, royal assent was notified to the House of Lords and notified in the House of Commons at 4:35 PM.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Assent - Hansard |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2019-10-31/debates/E095C72C-6D9D-489F-BD54-CB67D51A195E/RoyalAssent |website=hansard.parliament.uk}}</ref> The bill became law within three days from introduction to royal assent, an uncommonly short time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Civil Partnership - Hansard |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-10-31/debates/6FAFCC9A-A3BD-4C59-9F61-956DF2E26E3A/CivilPartnership |access-date=24 December 2019 |work=hansard.parliament.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bill stages — Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 — UK Parliament |url=https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-19/earlyparliamentarygeneralelection/stages.html |website=services.parliament.uk}}</ref>
The act circumvented the FTPA to provide for a general election on 12 December:
{{boxquote| '''1 Early parliamentary general election''' :(1) An early parliamentary general election is to take place on 12 December 2019 in consequence of the passing of this Act. :(2) That day is to be treated as a polling day appointed under section 2(7) of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-20/earlyparliamentarygeneralelection.html|title=Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019|website=UK Parliament|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref>}}
At 12:01 AM on 6 November, Parliament was dissolved, as the FTPA required that dissolution must happen 25 days before a general election with all seats in the House of Commons becoming vacant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dissolution of Parliament - News from Parliament |url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2019/november/the-house-has-dissolved/ |website=UK Parliament |language=en}}</ref>
The 2019 act referred to the FTPA but did not amend it. The FTPA remained in force unaltered until its repeal in 2022; the effect of the 2019 act was only to interrupt its operation. The two acts did not legally conflict, owing to the British constitutional principle of [[parliamentary sovereignty]], that Parliament has "the right to make or unmake any law whatever", and constitutional laws are of no different status.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Junade |title=The Fixed Term Parliament Act: A Recipe for Constitutional Crisis and Prorogation? |url=https://blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/the-fixed-term-parliament-act-a-recipe-for-constitutional-crisis-and-prorogation/ |website=OxPol |date=24 September 2019 |publisher=Oxford University}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blick |first1=Andrew |title=Constitutional Implications of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 |journal=Parliamentary Affairs |date=1 January 2016 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=19–35 |doi=10.1093/pa/gsv004 |url=https://academic.oup.com/pa/article-abstract/69/1/19/2472855 |access-date=24 December 2019 |language=en |issn=0031-2290|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Other effects == In 2016, in the wake of the [[Panama Papers]] scandal, a petition was created on the [[UK Parliament petitions website|Parliament petitions website]] that called for a [[Uk general election|general election]] after Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] revealed that he had had investments in an offshore trust.<ref>{{cite news |title=Petition calls for General Election this year after David Cameron admission |url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/08/petition-calls-for-general-election-this-year-after-david-cameron-admission-5804720/ |work=Metro |date=8 April 2016 |access-date=14 June 2016}}</ref> After the petition had passed the threshold of 100,000 signatures, the [[Government of the United Kingdom|government]] response cited the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in its reply, and stated that "no Government can call an early general election any more anyway".<ref>{{cite web |title=Hold a General Election in 2016 |url= http://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122946 |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=14 June 2016}}</ref>
In 2017, the journalist [[John Rentoul]] writing in ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper argued that the Fixed-term Parliaments Act indirectly caused the election loss of [[Theresa May]]'s majority in the 2017 election. Technicalities made her choose an election campaign of seven weeks, 2–3 weeks longer than usual, which, Rentoul argued, lost her the majority.<ref name=Indy170617 />
Losing the [[State Opening of Parliament#Debate on the speech|parliamentary vote that follows a speech from the throne]] (also known as a King's or Queen's Speech) has traditionally been seen as having the same consequences for a government as losing a vote of no confidence. Although this was not the case under the Act, the consequences of losing a vote on the Queen's speech were still considered significant. Theresa May delayed the Queen's speech that was expected in spring 2019, partly as a result of concerns about the prospects for winning a parliamentary vote on it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48097069 |title=Theresa May 'unlikely' to hold another Queen's speech |date=29 April 2019 |access-date=17 July 2019|work=BBC News|author=Nicholas Watt}}</ref>
== Repeal == === Proposals for repeal and replacement === The Conservative Party manifesto at the 2017 general election proposed repealing the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.<ref>[https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto Conservative Party 2017 manifesto] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030184228/https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto |date=30 October 2019 }}, p. 43</ref> However, Theresa May's government failed to win a House of Commons majority at that election and did not attempt to repeal the act.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/86039/fixed-term-parliaments-act-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter |title=Fixed-term Parliaments Act: What is it and why does it matter? |website=[[The Week]] |date=26 June 2017 |access-date=4 May 2019}}</ref> The Conservative Party reiterated the commitment to repeal the act in its manifesto for the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|December 2019 election]], at which it won a majority. The manifesto stated that the Act "has led to paralysis at a time the country needed decisive action".<ref name="Con Man" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/12/exit-poll-election-boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn-labour|title=If the exit poll is right, this election will transform British politics|first=Martin|last=Kettle|date=12 December 2019|access-date=13 December 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref> The first [[Queen's Speech]] following the election confirmed that "work will be taken forward to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/12/full-transcript-the-queens-speech/|title=Full transcript: The Queen's Speech|date=19 December 2019|access-date=19 December 2019|work=The Spectator|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219150849/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/12/full-transcript-the-queens-speech/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Lord Norton of Louth had commented in 2016 that repealing the Act would require a new [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Act of Parliament]], and that if the duration of parliaments was to be limited, arrangements for this would need to be included in the new Act because the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 had repealed pre-existing legislation governing the duration of parliaments.<ref name=Norton/>
==== 2020 private member's bill ==== After the December 2019 election, on 3 February 2020, a [[private member's bill]] to repeal and replace the FTPA was introduced in the [[House of Lords]] by Conservative peer [[Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft|Lord Mancroft]]. The bill would have established five-year parliaments, the next election to be on 2 May 2024, unless an early election is called by royal proclamation dissolving Parliament. This would have substantially restored the position before the FTPA. Additionally, the bill would have confirmed that the monarch has power to prorogue Parliament until a time of the monarch's choosing. Under the bill, the monarch's actions, and government advice to the monarch about those actions, would not have been justiciable. A second reading was not scheduled for the bill, which failed with the prorogation of Parliament on 29 April 2021.<ref name="FTPA repeal bill">{{Cite web|url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2609/news|title=Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill [HL]|website=bills.parliament.uk|access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
=== Proposals for reform === Since the Act abolished the old prerogative powers, for example the royal power of dissolution, some legal experts such as Raphael Hogarth argued that it would not be possible simply to revive them even if that were desired. The Act might instead have been reformed, in particular to specify what steps should occur during what has been called the "messy fortnight" after a motion under the Act is passed and to clarify whether pre-existing types of vote amounting to no confidence, such as rejection of the Budget, continued to require a government's resignation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/ftpa-should-not-be-replaced-something-worse?inf_contact_key=4c69800fd8648d1a4e9dcbd0a5badf857e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09|last=Hogarth|first=Raphael|title=The FTPA is a bad law – but it should not be replaced with something worse|website=Institute for Government|date=27 November 2019|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref><!--he says Labour has "pledged" to repeal the Act but I couldn't see it in the 2019 Labour Maninfesto-->
This position was rejected in 2020 by the government, which opted to explicitly revive the royal prerogative in its draft legislation repealing the Act.<ref name="DraftRepealBill" /> Whether this would in fact constitute a restoration of the prerogative or the creation of a new statutory power is debated by legal experts, with former [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]] judges [[Baroness Hale]] and [[Lord Sumption]] arguing that the prerogative could be revived, constitutional law professor Anne Twomey that it could not, and [[Stephen Laws]], a former [[Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (United Kingdom)|First Parliamentary Counsel]], stating that "if Parliament wants the power to be the same as it was before 2011, then it is the duty of the courts to see it as such".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consoc.org.uk/the-joint-committee-on-the-fixed-term-parliaments-act-an-update/|last=Walker|first=Alex|title=The Joint Committee on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act: an update|website=The Constitution Society|date=19 February 2021|accessdate=5 May 2021}}</ref>
=== Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 === {{main|Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022}} The government published on 1 December 2020, for consideration by the parliamentary Joint Committee on the FTPA, a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill which would repeal and replace the FTPA.<ref name="FTPArepeal" /> The draft, accompanied by a statement of the underlying principles, provides for revival of the royal prerogative powers as to dissolution of parliament and summoning of a new parliament "as if the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 had never been enacted", with the effect of restoring maximum five-year parliaments. It adds (which is new) that a court "may not question" (a) the "exercise or purported exercise" of those powers, (b) "any decision or purported decision relating to those powers" or (c) "the limits or extent of those powers".<ref name="DraftRepealBill">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-fixed-term-parliaments-act-repeal-bill|title=Policy paper: Draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act (Repeal) Bill|author=Cabinet Office|website=gov.uk|date=1 December 2020|access-date=18 December 2020}}</ref> Retitled the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill, it was announced formally in the Queen's Speech of 11 May 2021 and introduced to Parliament the following day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56987630 |title=Queen's Speech 2021: Key points at-a-glance |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=11 May 2021 |accessdate=11 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2859|title=Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill|website=parliament.uk|accessdate=12 May 2021}}</ref> The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act was granted royal assent on 24 March 2022, repealing the Fixed Term Parliaments Act and the [[Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019]] as part of the act's provisions.<ref name=":0" />
== See also == * [[Elections Act 2022]] * [[Legislative session]]
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite journal |title=The summoning and meeting of new Parliaments in the United Kingdom |author=Robert Blackburn |journal=Legal Studies |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=165–176 |year=1989 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-121X.1989.tb00392.x|s2cid=144040222 }}
== External links == * {{UK-LEG}} * {{UK-LEG|asmade=yes}} * {{Wikisource-inline|single=y}}
{{UK electoral reform}} {{UK legislation}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2011]] [[Category:Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the House of Commons]] [[Category:Election legislation in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament]] [[Category:Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom]]