UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step down

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I just have to pick a nit here.

The Prime Minister can ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections whenever he wants to. But it's the Queen, not the PM, who can actually dissolve Parliament.

Good point MC. But in reality the Crown always dissolves Parliament when asked. The last time that he didn't was way back in 1923. If Elizabeth was asked to dissolve and she refused, it might cause a constitutional crisis.

I don't know RU OX how long this will last. As my friend said, it's a match made in hell. And some of the changes they want are huge, especially some of the political ones. I personally think that as soon as the Lib Dems get proportional representation, they are bailing. And Labour still did pretty well in the election, if not as well as the Conservatives. The Lib Dems are still the third party. If it wasn't for the fact that they still wouldn't have had a majority anyway, they would have joined with Labour instead.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Good point MC. But in reality the Queen always dissolves Parliament when asked. The last time that he didn't was way back in 1923. If Elizabeth was asked to dissolve and she refused, it might cause a constitutional crisis.

Very true, and I was just gigging you a little. Nevertheless, there are protocols that must be followed, and I think we Americans tend to not fully appreciate the role the Crown has in government (the Queen-in-Parliament). My son and I were hearing the story on NPR about Brown resigning and a "new government" in the UK. The "new government" caught his ear, as it sounded to him like a new system of government. We discussed what it means in the British context, including how Brown didn't just resign, he submitted his resignation to the Queen, who on accepting it invited David Cameron to form a new government.

The decision to dissolve Parliament is the government's; the power to dissolve Parliament is the Crown's.