10-05-2023, 12:10 AM
From 1708 to 1926, members of parliament (MPs) of the House of Commons of Great Britain (and later the United Kingdom) automatically vacated their seats when made ministers in government and had to successfully contest a by-election in order to rejoin the House; such ministerial by-elections were imported into the constitutions of several colonies of the British Empire, where they were likewise all abolished by the mid-20th century. The requirement of MPs to rejoin the House upon ministerial appointment arose from 17th-century ideas of the independence of the House from the influence of the Crown, which appoints the ministers. Unlike in the United States, whose constitution took such ideas to the extreme by fully separating the executive and legislative branches, support for some royal patronage meant that whilst MPs were barred from keeping their seats when made ministers, ministers holding an existing portfolio were not required to surrender their office when elected as an MP. This resulted in a compromise where newly-appointed ministers had to resign from the House, but could keep their office if they won a by-election back into it.
In practice this by-election was usually a formality, uncontested by the opposition, and was gradually reformed starting from the late 19th century; the change of an existing minister's portfolio did not trigger a by-election after 1867, the necessity for by-elections was temporarily suspended during the First World War, and by-elections were no longer needed for ministerial appointments within nine months of a general election after 1919. Ministerial by-elections were criticised as an inconvenience to the government, and were argued to hold back potential executive talent that represented marginal constituencies where a by-election was risky. Nevertheless, supporters of the practice frustrated attempts at its abolition, claiming that it provided a check on the government in an era where general elections were few and far between and allowed a constituency to avoid having its MP appointed to national office without its consent. As parliaments became shorter-lived, the inconvenience of ministerial by-elections to governments became more acute, especially for governments with small majorities and in times where the opposition and special interest groups contested them, and they were abolished in 1926 by a private member's bill.
The Irish Free State, the Union of South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, India, and New Zealand never had ministerial by-elections. In Canada, where such elections had played a role in the King–Byng constitutional crisis of 1926, they were abolished federally in 1931 and in the various provinces between 1926 and 1941; Newfoundland, which would not join Canada until 1949, abolished them in 1928. Australia never had such elections federally, but several states had them prior to the 20th century; Western Australia was the last jurisdiction in the British Empire to maintain such elections, finally abolishing them in 1947.
In many countries with political systems different from the British-derived Westminster system, such as a presidential or dualistic system, executive officers cannot be sitting legislators at the same time. The appointment of a legislator to executive office thus triggers a vacancy in the legislature. If the normal rule for filling these vacancies is holding a by-election, such a country would thus have a form of ministerial by-elections, albeit different from the historical practice in Britain.
In practice this by-election was usually a formality, uncontested by the opposition, and was gradually reformed starting from the late 19th century; the change of an existing minister's portfolio did not trigger a by-election after 1867, the necessity for by-elections was temporarily suspended during the First World War, and by-elections were no longer needed for ministerial appointments within nine months of a general election after 1919. Ministerial by-elections were criticised as an inconvenience to the government, and were argued to hold back potential executive talent that represented marginal constituencies where a by-election was risky. Nevertheless, supporters of the practice frustrated attempts at its abolition, claiming that it provided a check on the government in an era where general elections were few and far between and allowed a constituency to avoid having its MP appointed to national office without its consent. As parliaments became shorter-lived, the inconvenience of ministerial by-elections to governments became more acute, especially for governments with small majorities and in times where the opposition and special interest groups contested them, and they were abolished in 1926 by a private member's bill.
The Irish Free State, the Union of South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, India, and New Zealand never had ministerial by-elections. In Canada, where such elections had played a role in the King–Byng constitutional crisis of 1926, they were abolished federally in 1931 and in the various provinces between 1926 and 1941; Newfoundland, which would not join Canada until 1949, abolished them in 1928. Australia never had such elections federally, but several states had them prior to the 20th century; Western Australia was the last jurisdiction in the British Empire to maintain such elections, finally abolishing them in 1947.
In many countries with political systems different from the British-derived Westminster system, such as a presidential or dualistic system, executive officers cannot be sitting legislators at the same time. The appointment of a legislator to executive office thus triggers a vacancy in the legislature. If the normal rule for filling these vacancies is holding a by-election, such a country would thus have a form of ministerial by-elections, albeit different from the historical practice in Britain.
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3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Archivist of The League and Concord