Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill — Clause 2 — Revival of Prerogative Powers to Dissolve Parliament and to Call a New Parliament — 14 Mar 2022 at 18:00

The majority of MPs voted for the power to dissolve Parliament and call a general election to lie with the hereditary monarch rather than with MPs in the House of Commons.

MPs were considering the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill^[1][2][3].

The Bill provided for the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and the restoration of the monarch's "prerogative powers to dissolve Parliament and to call a new Parliament".

The motion supported by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.

Lords amendment 1 stated:

• Page 1, line 9, at end insert—
• “(1A) The powers referred to in subsection (1) shall not be exercised unless the House of Commons passes a motion in the form set out in subsection (1B).
• (1B) The form of motion for the purposes of subsection (1A) is “that this present Parliament will be dissolved.””

Had it not been rejected the amendment would have impacted Clause 2 of the Bill^[2][3] which was titled: Revival of prerogative powers to dissolve Parliament and to call a new Parliament and stated:

• (1) The powers relating to the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of a new Parliament that were exercisable by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative immediately before the commencement of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 are exercisable again, as if the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 had never been enacted.
• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the powers relating to the calling of a new Parliament include powers to order the issue of—
• (a) writs of summons to attend the House of Lords, and
• (b) writs for parliamentary elections (see rule 3 in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983).

The explanatory notes to the Bill^[3] state, in respect of the position prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011:

• The exercise of the [monarch's] prerogative was, in practice, subject to constitutional conventions. For example, the Sovereign dissolved Parliament only when she was requested to do so by the Prime Minister, and in certain exceptional circumstances, the Sovereign could refuse to grant a dissolution.

The explanatory notes predict:

• a future Parliament will be dissolved by the Sovereign, on the request of the Prime Minister, as it was prior to the enactment of the 2011 Act

MPs could always take back the power they give to the monarch via this Bill, however in this case the power may be used before they are able to do so.

Depending on how one interprets the United Kingdom's constitutional conventions one could argue either the monarch, or MPs, have the power to dissolve Parliament, in any case.

The Bill does amount to a shift in power from MPs to the monarch, which, given convention, is expected to amount in practice to a shift in power from MPs in the House of Commons to the Prime Minister, or other ministers.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill , Parliament.uk
• [2] Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill as introduced on 12 May 2021, Parliament.uk
• [3] Explanatory notes to the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill as introduced on 12 May 2021, Parliament.uk
• [4] Lords amendments to the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill, 25 February 2022, Parliament.uk
• [5] Explanatory notes to the Lords amendments to the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill, 25 February 2022, Parliament.uk

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