The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced fixed-term elections for the first time to the Westminster parliament. Under the provisions of the Act, parliamentary elections must be held every five years, beginning in 2015. The Act received Royal Assent on 15 September 2011. Fixed-term Parliaments, where general elections ordinarily take place in accordance with a schedule set far in advance, were part of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement which was produced after the 2010 general election.
Before the passage of the Act, Parliament could be dissolved by royal proclamation by virtue of the Royal Prerogative. This originally meant that the British Monarch decided when to dissolve Parliament. Over time, the monarch increasingly acted only on the advice of the Prime Minister; by the nineteenth century, Prime Ministers had the de facto power to dissolve Parliament and call a new general election at a time of their choosing.
The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned; this period was reduced to five years by the Parliament Act 1911. Apart from special legislation enacted during both World Wars to extend the life of the then-current Parliaments, Parliament was never allowed to reach its maximum statutory length, as the monarch always dissolved it before its expiry.[1]
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Section 2 of the Act also provides for two ways in which a general election can be held before the end of this five-year period:
If the House of Commons resolves "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government", an early general election is held, unless the House of Commons resolves "That this House has confidence in Her Majesty's Government". This second resolution must be made within fourteen days of the first.
If the House of Commons, with the support of two-thirds of its total membership (including vacant seats), resolves "That there shall be an early parliamentary general election".
In either of these two cases, the monarch (on the recommendation of the Prime Minister) appoints the date of the new election by proclamation. Parliament is then dissolved 17 working days before that date.
