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Tugays_Tabs t1_itll17x wrote

Reply to comment by gonzo5622 in Penny Mordaunt pulls out of Tory leadership race, paving way for Rishi Sunak to become next PM | Politics News by FutureNytro

It’s technically possible I believe due to the way our laws were made up on centuries worth of “back of the cigarette packets”.

But it would lead to a bit of a constitutional crisis and no matter how much I hate the Tories, I’m not sure I want to set the precedent for a hereditary dictatorship who can decide to dissolve the sitting government at will.

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CrappyTire69 t1_itlpx7d wrote

Happened here in Canada with the King-Byng Thing. William Lyon McKenzie King had a few rapid-fire elections in a short period of time due to unstable government, so the third or fourth time he asked GG Byng to dissolve parliament, he said no. Under Canadian law, if the GG says no, the PM has to step down (read: is fired). Led to a huge constitutional crisis in Canada and massive republican sentiment in Canada. It'd cause a constitutional crisis for sure. What wound up happening is the opposition was offered the opportunity to form parliament but lost in a confidence vote and King won a majority in the next election.

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leelougirl89 t1_itmsa72 wrote

If anyone is curious, GG stands for Governal General. The GG is a stand in for the King or Queen in a British Colony (like Canada) since the King can’t physically be in all of his colonies at once.

Just like British Kings/Queens, the Governer General:

-doesn’t usually get involved unless it’s super duper crisis time and the Prime Minister needs help. -is mostly known for giving out awards. -is not elected by the people. (The colony’s Prime Minister picks one and gets final approval from the Queen/King).

Our last one was a super accomplished astronaut... who was apparently SUCH an extremely nasty and cruel boss to her staff that there was an entire legal investigation done by an outside lawfirm. They confirmed she was a b-word. Yeah she was fired. Or she quit. That was quite the drama.

I didn’t know the GG had the power to call an election.

Cool :)

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PoeHeller3476 t1_itozqkh wrote

There was also the Dismissal in Australia, where Gough Whitlam’s Labor government lost it’s majority in the Senate due to a Whitlam ally dying in office and being deliberately replaced with a member of the Labor Party opposed to Whitlam (the Premiers of the Australian States fill senate vacancies; in this case, it was infamous National Premier and dictator of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Pieterson). This caused the Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Fraser to get the Liberal-National Coalition to block supply in the Senate (supply is the funding for the government to operate; without supply, the government falls and an election is called).

Fraser repeatedly urged the GG Sir John Kerr (a friend of Whitlam’s who Whitlam had appointed the year before the crisis) to call a fresh election for the House of Representatives. Whitlam sought advice from Kerr, and Kerr showed no indication that he would dismiss Whitlam, while Kerr worked out a deal with Fraser.

Then, when Whitlam came to meet the GG to request a half-Senate election, the GG instead dismissed Whitlam, forcing the government from power. He then appointed Fraser as PM, the Coalition passed supply, and a double dissolution election was called. The Coalition and Fraser then won the snap election with a massive majority.

The whole issue with the Dismissal was the fact that the GG wasn’t direct with Whitlam and basically blindsided him, and that the GG forced a sitting government out of office. It essentially forced Kerr to resigned a few years later and live out his years away from Australia.

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