Let the “Squatter in Downing Street” be.
FOR THE SECOND ELECTION IN A ROW, it looks like the British people will once again, produce a hung parliament at the 7 May poll.
At this stage it is predicted neither the Conservatives nor Labour will have an overall majority, and will need to rely on a kalaidescope of minor parties to form a coalition government.
As the home of the Westminster tradition, exported to colonial democracies such as Australia, India and Canada, the British seem to get surprisingly muddled about such a prospect. Political parties and the general public had become used to long periods of single party majority government. With the prospect of a hung Parliament after the 2010 election, there was general confusion about how to manage the transition to a coalition government.
Four days after that election, Gordon Brown tendered his resignation as Prime Minister to the Queen, despite continuing negotiations by both major parties with the Liberal Democrats on forming government.
Brown’s precipitate decision was in response to media frenzy about his ‘legitimacy’ to remain in office until the next government was formed.
This culminated with the tabloid newspapers accusing him of being a ‘squatter in Downing Street’. His resignation left the nation without a functioning executive and the Queen without an advisor.
So, what should happen after an election when the result of who will form the next government is still unclear?
There are a set of established principles — the caretaker conventions — which guide the conduct of the incumbent government. Caretaker conventions check the power of the executive, when there is no Parliament for them to answer to.
The conventions are designed to reduce the power of the government by preventing an outgoing government from locking an incoming government into major new policy, funding commitment or significant appointment.
Applying the conventions allow for a continuity of government until the next government is sworn in but also constrains the actions of that government. Continuity of government is important because the unexpected can happen, such as a terrorist attack, financial crisis or natural disaster. To leave a country without a functioning government is a worrying precedent.
The on-going business of government can continue, with any urgent or unavoidable decisions being made after consultation and agreement with the Opposition. The caretaker provisions provide a framework for an extended period of caretaker government and have done so during other lengthy transitions in comparable Westminster style countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown set an unfortunate precedent by caving in to ill-informed media pressure to resign. It looks now like Labour leader Ed Miliband is seeking to exploit that precedent.
Media reports say the Labour Party is pursuing legal advice on how to force Prime Minister David Cameron from office if again there are extended negotiations to form government. Labour is concerned about the perceived value of ‘incumbency’ if Cameron remains in Downing Street, while negotiations about forming a coalition government with the minority parties continue.
The imposition once again of hyper-partisan politics into the caretaker period is unfortunate.
The professionalism of party machine politics has led to a ruthless approach to maximising political advantage. Conventions only continue to exist and be applied if both sides of politics accept them as shared norms of behaviour. By their nature, they are both of reciprocal and mutual. To overcome this confusion in governance in the UK a consensus needs to be formulated at the political level on the principles which apply in the caretaker period after election day and when that caretaker period ends.
In the meantime, David Cameron needs to resist reinforcing the precedent to prematurely evacuate Downing Street and continue to ‘squat’ until the result of the election is known, and who can command a majority in the House of Commons, becomes clear.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JENNIFER MENZIES
Jennifer is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University and is a Member of the Commonwealth Grants Commission and Director of the consultancy Policy Futures.
Jenny has over 20 years experience in policy and public administration in both the State and Commonwealth Governments.
As a senior executive within the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet she developed the government’s strategic policy agenda including the Smart State Policy.
She was Cabinet Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and the inaugural Secretary for the Council for the Australian Federation from 2007 to 2009. She publishes in the fields of caretaker conventions, federalism and intergovernmental relations.
