Crown Constitutional Crisis in British Columbia

[R Davidovich]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/clark-horgan-guichon-judgement-day-1.4181805

In the Westminster Parliamentary tradition, the Crown forms a government after a new election based on the premise that the government (read: the Prime Minister) has the support of a majority in the people’s house.

It is only once that premise is established, by the House supporting the Throne Speech or first supply bill, that the Westminster Constitutional Convention of Advice kicks in. “Advice” means that the Crown should feel obliged to act as the government directs it to act.

Once the power to Advise is bestowed by convention, then even if the Government loses its majority support in the People’s House, the power is maintained provisionally, to advise a new election or advise that the Crown ask someone else to form a government.

But if a new Parliament convenes and never even gives its first mandate to anyone, then the government has not acted in any other capacity since the previous election to justify asking for another election. The power to Advise the Crown has not been earned by anyone, even for a moment.

It is up to the Crown to give someone else a chance before considering another election. And in order to preserve the democratic conventions of the Westminster system, and avoid an Australia-1975 debacle, the responsible and moral decision of the Government is to advise the Crown to look elsewhere before calling another election.

[Graham]

Post by R Davidovich
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/clark-horgan-guichon-judgement-day-1.4181805
In the Westminster Parliamentary tradition, the Crown forms a government after a new election based on the premise that the government (read: the Prime Minister) has the support of a majority in the people’s house.
It is only once that premise is established, by the House supporting the Throne Speech or first supply bill, that the Westminster Constitutional Convention of Advice kicks in. “Advice” means that the Crown should feel obliged to act as the government directs it to act.
Once the power to Advise is bestowed by convention, then even if the Government loses its majority support in the People’s House, the power is maintained provisionally, to advise a new election or advise that the Crown ask someone else to form a government.
But if a new Parliament convenes and never even gives its first mandate to anyone, then the government has not acted in any other capacity since the previous election to justify asking for another election. The power to Advise the Crown has not been earned by anyone, even for a moment.
It is up to the Crown to give someone else a chance before considering another election. And in order to preserve the democratic conventions of the Westminster system, and avoid an Australia-1975 debacle, the responsible and moral decision of the Government is to advise the Crown to look elsewhere before calling another election.

As I understand the Westminster system: -

1. The sitting PM remains in office until they resign.
2. They do not have to do so immediately - in the hung parliaments of February 1974 and 2010, Heath and Brown respectively remained PM until it becmae clear that they could not form a government.
3. The sitting PM is entitled to 'meet the Commons' and bring forward a Speech from the Throne, as Baldwin did in January 1924, and as Clark did in BC in 2017.
4. If the Commons votes no confidence, the government must resign, unless it seeks and is granted another dissolution.
5. I can think of no case in any jurisdiction using the Westminster system where a PM has sought a second dissolution immediately after the meeting of the parliament elected following the first one - can anyone? The nearest case that comes to mind is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%E2%80%93Byng_Affair - when the Governor-General refused the PM a dissolution about 8 months after the previous one. Or the 2nd 1974 election in the UK.
6. For further developments in British Columbia, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Clark#Return_to_the_Opposition

[The Chief]

Post by R Davidovich
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/clark-horgan-guichon-judgement-day-1.4181805
In the Westminster Parliamentary tradition, the Crown forms a government after a new election based on the premise that the government (read: the Prime Minister) has the support of a majority in the people’s house.
It is only once that premise is established, by the House supporting the Throne Speech or first supply bill, that the Westminster Constitutional Convention of Advice kicks in. “Advice” means that the Crown should feel obliged to act as the government directs it to act.
Once the power to Advise is bestowed by convention, then even if the Government loses its majority support in the People’s House, the power is maintained provisionally, to advise a new election or advise that the Crown ask someone else to form a government.
But if a new Parliament convenes and never even gives its first mandate to anyone, then the government has not acted in any other capacity since the previous election to justify asking for another election. The power to Advise the Crown has not been earned by anyone, even for a moment.
It is up to the Crown to give someone else a chance before considering another election. And in order to preserve the democratic conventions of the Westminster system, and avoid an Australia-1975 debacle, the responsible and moral decision of the Government is to advise the Crown to look elsewhere before calling another election.

Funny, never heard of this crisis in Cumbria!
regards,
The Chief