The 1993 confidence motion in the

second Major ministry John Major formed the second Major ministry following the 1992 general election after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to begin a new administration. His government fell into minority status on 13 December 1996. Formation The change of ...

was an explicit

confidence motion A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in the British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

government of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

. It was proposed in order to ensure support in the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

for the passing of the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

. Due to previous defeats caused when

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

Conservative MPs voted with the opposition, the Government had to obtain support for its policy on the Social Chapter before the European Communities Amendment Act 1993 could come into effect and allow the United Kingdom to ratify the treaty. Dissenting Conservative MPs were willing to vote against the Government, but had to come into line on a confidence motion or else lose the Conservative whip. Only one eurosceptic MP was deliberately absent; and as a result, the motion passed by 40 votes and the United Kingdom ratified the Maastricht Treaty.

European Communities Amendment Bill

At Maastricht,

had negotiated a treaty which allowed the European Union to develop, but with the United Kingdom opting out of the 'Social Chapter' provisions on employment law. The opt out was strongly opposed by the Labour opposition, although it supported the treaty as a whole. The treaty itself was opposed by a minority of Members of Parliament in both main parties, who were termed

s due to their concern at the way the European Communities had developed as an institution. As the

increased the powers of the European Communities, an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

was needed to give effect to those powers in UK domestic law before the Government could ratify it. The Government introduced the European Communities Amendment Bill almost immediately after the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in April 1992. As the Bill affected the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, its

committee stage In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries ( England, Scotland, Wales and Northern I ...

had to be taken in a Committee of the Whole House. Eurosceptics who opposed the treaty put down hundreds of amendments, and the Committee stage lasted from 1 December 1992 to 21 April 1993. At the end the Government accepted new clause no. 74, proposed by the Labour front bench, which required an explicit vote by both Houses of Parliament on a Government motion "considering the question of adopting the Protocol on Social Policy" before the Act could be implemented. Labour spokesman on Europe George Robertson described the new clause as a 'ticking time bomb' under the Government.Patrick Wintour, "Tory peers pledge referendum battle", ''The Guardian'', 23 April 1993.

Government defeat

The European Communities Amendment Bill successfully passed through its Parliamentary stages and received

Royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 20 July 1993, with new clause 74 having become section 7 of the Act. The Government then scheduled a debate in the House of Commons on 22 July on a motion under section 7; at Prime Minister's Question Time on 20 July, Major gave the impression that he would ratify the treaty even if the Government lost the vote, because Parliament had approved the treaty he signed.Philip Webster and Nicholas Wood, "Labour sets treaty trap for Major", ''The Times'', 21 July 1993. The motion debated on 22 July declared: The Labour front bench moved an amendment to change the motion to: After a long and at times acrimonious debate,Robert Morgan, "Parliament's will must not be defied, Smith warns", ''The Times'', 23 July 1993. the Labour amendment was voted on first; and the result was dramatically announced as a tie with 317 MPs voting in favour and 317 MPs voting against. The

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Betty Boothroyd Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. From 1992 to 2000, she served as Speaker of the House of ...

gave her

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

against the amendment. (It was later discovered that there had been a miscount of those supporting the motion, and that one more had been counted in its support than had actually voted, so that the amendment had actually been defeated by one vote
Hansard
', House of Commons 6th series, vol 229 col 621.). After the amendment was voted down, the Government motion was put to the vote and lost by eight votes, 316 in favour and 324 against.Arthur Leathley, "Major accuses Tory social chapter rebels of cynical voting", ''The Times'', 23 July 1993.

The confidence debate

Immediately that the result was known,

announced that the next day (a Friday, which would normally be given over to light Parliamentary business) would now be a debate on a motion of confidence approving the Government's policy on the Social Chapter. This debate began at 9:30 AM, with a packed House.

was reckoned by observers not to have been as effective a speaker on Friday as he had been on Thursday, telling the House that "this country cannot afford to let this stalemate on European policy continue. It is against the interests of government in this country to do so. This House must decide today whether it is prepared to sustain the Government in office or encourage me to seek a dissolution." The Leader of the Opposition John Smith was said to be "on top form", making several jokes at the expense of Major, whom he likened to a cricketer being forced to

follow-on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...

after being clean bowled. Smith described the "quasi-motion of confidence" as "not a sign of confidence, but a display of weakness".Michael White, Stephen Bates, "PM pays dearly for victory Smith savages weak leadership", ''The Guardian'', 24 July 1993. The opposition front bench amendment requiring the Government to remove its opt out from the Social Chapter was voted down by 301 to 339, and the Government motion was then agreed by 339 to 299. Examining the lists of MPs who had voted disclosed one Conservative MP who had been absent and not voted:

Rupert Allason Rupert William Simon Allason (born 8 November 1951) is a British former Conservative Party politician and professional author. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon, from 1987 to 1997. He writes books and articles on the ...

, Member for

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

was subsequently found to have left the country on the Wednesday. Allason admitted he ought to have returned for the vote, and wrote to the Prime Minister to apologise;Christopher Lloyd, Greg Hadfield, "Tories' runaway Rupert comes in from the cold", ''The Sunday Times'', 25 July 1993. but for his failure to support his party Allason had the Conservative Party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

suspended.Philip Webster, "Rebel Tory Allason loses party whip", ''The Times'', 27 July 1993.

References

{{John Major

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Vote of confidence in the government of John Major Vote of confidence in the government of John Major John Major

European Communities Amendment Bill

Government defeat

The confidence debate

See also

References