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Encyclopedia > Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
United Kingdom

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the United Kingdom
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Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, or the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom is the largest opposition party in the House of Commons. This is usually the second-largest party, as the largest party will form the government. Since May 1997, the Official Opposition has been the Conservative Party. The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event held usually in October or November that marks the commencement of a session of Parliament. ... The British Monarchy is a shared monarchy. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... The Lord Speaker (or Lady Speaker) will be a new position in the British Parliament created once the Constitutional Reform Acts provisions about the Speakership of the House of Lords comes into effect. ... Hélène Valerie Hayman, Baroness Hayman, PC, née Middleweek (born 26 March 1949) is a Labour policitian. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. ... Michael John Martin MP (born 3 July 1945) is the current Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. ... Prime Ministers Questions is a Parliamentary practice in the United Kingdom where every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting, the Prime Minister spends half an hour answering questions from MPs. ... Her Majestys Government, or when the sovereign is male, His Majestys Government, abbreviated HMG, is the formal title used by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the governments of some other kingdoms where executive authority is theoretically vested in the monarch... In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body comprised of government officials chosen by the Prime Minister. ... The Prime Minister is in practice the most important political office in the United Kingdom. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament... The office of Deputy Prime Minister is one that has only existed occasionally in the history of the United Kingdom. ... John Leslie Prescott MP (born May 31, 1938) is a British Labour Party politician, Deputy Prime Minister, First Secretary of State and Member of Parliament for the north east constituency of Hull East. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British cabinet minister responsible for all financial matters. ... James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom and a Labour Party politician. ... The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (commonly referred to as Foreign Secretary) is a member of the British Government responsible for relations with foreign countries, heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (often called simply the Foreign Office). ... The Rt Hon. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). ... John Reid (born 8 May 1947) is a British politician who is Home Secretary and Member of Parliament for the Scottish constituency of Airdrie and Shotts. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Lord Falconer of Thoroton Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC, QC (born 19 November 1951) is a British barrister and Labour Party politician. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... Her Majestys Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Ministers and Secretaries of State these members of the Cabinet are supported by civil servants in Ministerial Departments. ... The British civil service is the permanent bureaucracy that supports the Government Ministers responsible to the Sovereign and Parliament in administering the United Kingdom. ... The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Her Majestys Most Loyal Opposition. ... David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician, Leader of the Conservative Party, and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. ... The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system: England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland another. ... Schematic of court system for England and Wales The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system—England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. ... The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system — England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. ... The Courts of Scotland are the civil, criminal and heraldic courts responsible for the administration of justice in Scotland. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The Scottish Parliaments logo in English and Gaelic. ... The Executives logo, shown with English and Scottish Gaelic caption The term Scottish Executive is used in two different, but closely-related senses: to denote the executive arm of Scotlands national legislature (i. ... Regional proportion of Yes vote in the 1997 referendum. ... The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) (Welsh: Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru, LlCC) is the executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet. ... The Northern Ireland Assembly is a home rule legislature established in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, but currently under suspension. ... The Northern Ireland Executive as established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is the (currently suspended) executive body for Northern Ireland, answerable to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... In Scotland reserved matters, also referred to as reserved powers, are those subjects over which power to legislate is retained by Westminster, as explicitly stated in the Scotland Act 1998. ... There is no single system of local government in the United Kingdom. ... The Greater London Authority (GLA) administers the 1579 km² (610 sq. ... The United Kingdom has five distinct types of elections: general, local, regional, European and mayoral. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ... Under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911, the next United Kingdom general election must be held on or before 3 June, 2010. ... This is a list of political parties in the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom has a long and established tradition of respect for its citizens human rights. ... British Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) conducting diplomacy, hosted by the President of the United States, George W. Bush at Camp David in March 2003. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ...

Contents

Origins

The phrase His Majesty's Opposition was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two party system, when parliament consisted of interests, relationships and factions rather than coherent political parties. Attacking the Foreign Secretary, George Canning in the House of Commons, John Hobhouse said: The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A two-party system is a type of party system where only two political parties have a realistic chance of winning an election. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... George Canning (April 11, 1770 - August 8, 1827) was a British politician who served as Foreign Secretary and, briefly, Prime Minister. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton and 2nd Baronet, PC (1786–1869) was the eldest son of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, born at Redland near Bristol, educated at Westminster School and at Cambridge, where he became intimate with Lord Byron, and accompanied him in his journeys in the Peninsula, Greece...

"It is said to be hard on His Majesty's Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty's Opposition to compel them to take this course."

The phrase was widely welcomed and has been in use ever since.


Opposition Days

Whilst most days in the House of Commons are set aside for government business, twenty days in each session are set aside for opposition debates. Of these days, seventeen are at the disposal of the Leader of the Opposition and three can be used by the leader of the smaller opposition party. [1] Although the Opposition has no more formal powers in setting the Parliamentary agenda, in reality they have a certain influence through a process known as the usual channels. [1] A parliamentary session is a period of time where the legislature in a parliamentary government is sitting. ... The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Her Majestys Loyal Opposition (the body in Parliament recognized as the Official Opposition). ... Usual Channels is a term used in British politics to describe the relationship between the Whips of the Government and the Opposition. ...


Leader of the Opposition

Main article: Leader of the Opposition (UK).

The Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition is often seen as the Prime Minister in waiting. Since 1915, the Leader of the Opposition has, like the Prime Minister, always been a member of parliament. Before that a member of the House of Lords sometimes took on the role, although often there was no overall Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Her Majestys Loyal Opposition (the body in Parliament recognized as the Official Opposition). ... The Prime Minister is in practice the most important political office in the United Kingdom. ...


Though there has not recently been a dispute as to who holds the position under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 the Speaker’s decision on the identity of the Leader of the Opposition is final .[1] In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. ...


Ministers' Questions

Prime Minister's Questions

Main article: Prime Minister's Questions

The most public parliamentary function of the Leader of the Opposition is Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), currently a 30 minute session held on Wednesday afternoons when Parliament is sitting. The Leader of the Opposition has 6 questions, which he usually splits into two sets. Other backbench opposition MPs also have the right to question the Prime Minister; they are selected either through a ballot, or by "catching the Speaker's eye". By convention other Shadow Cabinet members do not question the Prime Minister at PMQs, except when standing in for the Leader. Prime Ministers Questions is a Parliamentary practice in the United Kingdom where every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting, the Prime Minister spends half an hour answering questions from MPs. ...


Other Ministers' Questions

Every government department is subjected to questions in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. As with PMQs, the official opposition spokesmen are allocated a number of questions, and in addition backbench MPs are free to ask questions. In the House of Lords, opposition spokesmen also question the government. This is one of the reasons why every government department (and opposition shadow department) has at least one member of parliament and one peer in it.


Seating

As is usual with Westminster style systems, and other statutory assemblies and councils in the UK, the government and its supporters sit to the right of the Speaker (from the speaker's perspective), whilst the Opposition parties sit to the left. [2] Currently the Conservative Party occupies all the benches nearest to the speaker, including the frontbench directly opposite the usual seating places of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.


The Liberal Democrats, Nationalist and Unionist parties, Respect, IKHH all occupy the benches further from the Speaker, together with some of the Conservative MPs. Since 1997 the Liberal Democrats have occupied the front bench in these seats, previously these had been occupied by the main opposition party [citation needed]. The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. ... RESPECT The Unity Coalition is a left wing British political party founded on January 25, 2004 in London. ... Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern (often known by the shorter name Health Concern) is a political party based in Kidderminster, England. ...


Notes and References

  1. ^ a b c UK Parliament Standard Note:SN/PC/3910, 8th February 2006. Accessed 3rd June 2006.
  2. ^ BBC News Opposition Thursday, 19 January 2006, 16:26 GMT, accessed 3rd June 2006

See also


 

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