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Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has more than 50% of the seats in parliament. This is the most common type of government in Westminster.

Having a majority makes it easier for the governing party to pass legislation. The bigger the majority, the easier it is.

General Election, 2024

For example, after the General Election in 2024, Labour won with 410 Labour MPs. There are 229 opposition MPs, so the government has a working majority of 181 MPs. This majority can made it easier for the Labour Party to pass legislation that was outlined in their manifesto.

The European Union Act 2020

For example, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 passed with 330 MPs voting in favour of this bill and 231 against. The majority meant that this was able to pass, even with some Conservative MPs voting against it.

What is the whip system?

The whip system is a tool parties have to help them:

• pass legislation
• scrutinise the government

It is the job of the whips to ensure that backbench MPs vote in support of the party policy set by the leader. They are used to maintain party unity.

If MPs vote against their party, the whip may decide to impose a punishment. Repeated discretions can mean a more severe punishment. These can include:

• movements of office
• decreased likelihood of promotion
• having the whip withdrawn or deselection (in most severe cases).This would mean that the MP would not be included in party communications or could not stand for the party in the next election

For example, in 2019, the Conservative Party withdrew the whip from 21 MPs. This included several well-known names such as Kenneth Clarke and Nicholas Soames (grandson of Winston Churchill). Four of these MPs had the whip restored and are still MPs.