A report on Westminster system, Motion of no confidence and Constitution

The British Houses of Parliament are situated within the Palace of Westminster, in London
The outgoing Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (right) congratulates the incoming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (left) upon losing the no confidence vote on 1 June 2018.
Constitution of the Year XII (First French Republic)
Canadian Parliament at night
Constitution of the Kingdom of Naples in 1848.
The Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) building in New Delhi, India
Detail from Hammurabi's stele shows him receiving the laws of Babylon from the seated sun deity.
Knesset Building, Jerusalem
Diagram illustrating the classification of constitutions by Aristotle.
The Australian Senate
Third volume of the compilation of Catalan Constitutions of 1585
The Cossack Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, 1710.
A painting depicting George Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution
Constitution of May 3, 1791 (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). Polish King Stanisław August (left, in regal ermine-trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new Constitution; in background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.
Presidential copy of the Russian Constitution.
Magna Carta
United States Constitution

Depending on the constitution of the body concerned, "no confidence" may lead to the dismissal of the Council of Ministers or other position-holders and often the dissolution of most of the leadership of the executive branch.

- Motion of no confidence

Unlike the uncodified British constitution, most countries that use the Westminster system have codified the system, at least in part, in a written constitution.

- Westminster system

A lower house of parliament with an ability to dismiss a government by "withholding (or blocking) supply" (rejecting a budget), passing a motion of no confidence, or defeating a confidence motion.

- Westminster system

Traditionally, in the Westminster system, the defeat of a supply bill, which concerns the spending of money, is seen to require automatically for the government to resign or ask for a new election, much like a no-confidence vote.

- Motion of no confidence

Uncodified constitutions are the product of an "evolution" of laws and conventions over centuries (such as in the Westminster System that developed in Britain).

- Constitution

Confidence can be lost if the government loses a vote of no confidence or, depending on the country, loses a particularly important vote in parliament, such as vote on the budget.

- Constitution
The British Houses of Parliament are situated within the Palace of Westminster, in London

1 related topic with Alpha

Overall
Prime ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries in 2014. From left: Erna Solberg, Norway; Algirdas Butkevičius, Lithuania; Laimdota Straujuma, Latvia; Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Iceland; Alexander Stubb, Finland; Anne Sulling, Estonia (trade minister); Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark; Stefan Löfven, Sweden.

Prime minister

0 links

Head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system.

Head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system.

Prime ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries in 2014. From left: Erna Solberg, Norway; Algirdas Butkevičius, Lithuania; Laimdota Straujuma, Latvia; Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Iceland; Alexander Stubb, Finland; Anne Sulling, Estonia (trade minister); Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark; Stefan Löfven, Sweden.
Narendra Modi, The Prime Minister of India
The prime ministers of five members of the Commonwealth of Nations at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), the first Prime minister of India
John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), first Canadian Prime Minister.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1916–2000), former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the first female head of government
British prime minister William Pitt (1759–1806), the youngest head of government at the age of 24.
Countries with prime ministers (blue) and those that formerly had that position (dark red + Mexico).

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head/owner of the executive power.

(Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest that a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.

Where they lose a vote of confidence, have a motion of no confidence passed against them, or where they lose supply, most constitutional systems require either: