Cross-voting
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In some
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
s (e.g., in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, this term simply refers to Members of Parliament (MPs) who dissent from the party line and vote against the express instructions of the
party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...
while retaining membership in their political party. Voting against party lines may lead to consequences such as losing a position (e.g., as minister or a portfolio critic) or being ejected from the party caucus. While these practices are legally permissible in most countries, crossing the floor can lead to controversy and media attention. Some countries like
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
and
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
have laws that remove a member from parliament due to floor-crossing.


Etymology

The term originates from the
British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches. In consequence, MPs who switch from the governing party to one in opposition (or vice versa) also change which side of the chamber on which they sit. A notable example of this is
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, who crossed the floor from the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
to the Liberals in 1904, later crossing back in 1924. The term has passed into general use in other
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
parliamentary democracies even if many of these countries have semicircular or horseshoe-shaped debating chambers. The Australia meaning on the other hand arises from the way divisions—roll call votes—are conducted. In Australian chambers, members move to the government benches (on the presiding officer's right) to vote in favor of a motion, and the opposition benches (on the presiding officer's left) to vote against a motion. Therefore, an MP who crosses the floor is on the opposite side of the chamber from the rest of their party, and on government motions frequently on the opposite side of the chamber than they normally sit. In
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, the term "crossing the carpet" or "carpet crossing" is used. In India, a similar expression is "
Aaya Ram Gaya Ram ''Aaya Ram Gaya Ram'' () is a Hindi expression referring to the practice of turncoating, or switching parties in the context of a legislative body. The term originated in 1967 in Haryana when the Member of the Legislative Assembly Gaya Lal sh ...
", referring to political floor-crossing.Paras Diwan, 1979, "Aya Ram Gaya Ram: The Politics Of Defection", ''Journal of the Indian Law Institute'', Vol. 21, No. 3, July–September 1979, pp. 291-312.


Changing parties

In the United Kingdom and Canada, crossing the floor means leaving one's party entirely and joining another caucus. For example, leaving an opposition party to support the government (or vice versa), leaving or being expelled from the party one ran with at election and sitting as a clearIndependents are MPs who are not members of any party recognized in the House, which may happen for a range of reasons. The House may have a minimum threshold caucus size for party recognition (distinct from the Electoral oversight body), so if only one or two politicians are elected from a minor party their party is not accorded status and they are treated as independents. Another reason could relate to e.g. the death of a party's candidate after ballots were printed but before polling began, so alternate candidate runs independently but pledging to "take the whip" of party X. These examples are not "clearly" independent MPs, unlike someone who resigns from party Y declaring they can no longer in principle remain with it, or someone who ran and was elected on a platform against all the existing parties. independent, or even leaving one opposition party to join another. In both countries, the term carries only this meaning, not simply voting against the party line on a bill. In April 2006, then-premier of Manitoba
Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...
of the
New Democratic Party of Manitoba The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (Manitoba NDP; ), branded as Manitoba's NDP, is a social democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba ...
proposed banning crossing the floor in the Manitoba legislature in response to "the concern some voters have expressed over the high-profile defections of three federal MPs from their parties in just over two years". The resulting legislation, which amended the provincial ''Legislative Assembly Act'', mandated that members of the legislature who quit (or are expelled from) their political party had to serve out the remainder of their term as independents. However, in 2018, the Progressive Conservative government of
Brian Pallister Brian William Pallister (born July 6, 1954) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Manitoba from 2016 until 2021. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 2012 to 2021. He had been a cabinet ...
repealed the bill. An extraordinary example occurred in Alberta, Canada, in December 2014 by
Danielle Smith Marlaina Danielle Smith (born April 1, 1971) is a Canadian politician, former lobbyist, and former columnist and media personality who has been serving as the 19th premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since 20 ...
, the Leader of the Official Opposition. She and eight of her MLAs, all of the
Wildrose Party The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Alb ...
, crossed the floor together to join the governing
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, often referred to as the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, was a provincial centre-right party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta that existed fro ...
. In 2019, eleven British MPs defected from the Conservative and Labour parties to form the
Change UK Change UK, founded as The Independent Group (TIG) and later The Independent Group for Change, was a British centrist, pro–European Union political party, which lasted for ten months in 2019. Established in February and formally recognised ...
party. In September 2019, the governing Conservative party lost its working majority when Phillip Lee MP defected to the Liberal Democrats during the first speech of new prime minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
. On 19 January 2022,
Christian Wakeford Christian Wakeford (born 9 November 1984) is a British politician serving as Assistant Government Whip since 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South since the 2019 general election. Elected in 2019 as a Conservative, he ...
, Conservative MP for
Bury South Bury South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2019 by Christian Wakeford. Wakeford was elected as a Conservative but defected to the Labour Party in January 2022. He was re ...
, crossed the floor to the Labour benches.


Voting against party lines

In some countries, the phrase "crossing the floor" describes members of a government party or parties who defect by voting with the opposition against some piece of government-sponsored legislation. Political parties commonly allow their members a free vote on some matters of personal conscience. In Australia, one of the major parties, the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
requires its members to pledge their support for the collective decisions of the caucus, which theoretically prohibits them from "crossing the floor" in this sense; however, in practice, some Labor members disregard this pledge, despite the disciplinary action which may result. Among other parties, crossing the floor is rare, although then Senator
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...
of the
National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. Traditionally represe ...
crossed the floor 28 times. Tasmanian Senator Sir Reg Wright voted against his own party, the
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...
, on 150 occasions, which has been claimed as a record for this form of crossing the floor in the Australian Parliament.


See also

*''
Aaya Ram Gaya Ram ''Aaya Ram Gaya Ram'' () is a Hindi expression referring to the practice of turncoating, or switching parties in the context of a legislative body. The term originated in 1967 in Haryana when the Member of the Legislative Assembly Gaya Lal sh ...
'', a term used in India for party-switching politicians *
Article 70 of the Constitution of Bangladesh Article 70 of the Constitution of Bangladesh is a controversial clause that imposes ultra-strict party discipline in the country's Parliament. History Article 70 was written as a result of the Bangladesh Constituent Assembly (Cessation of Mem ...
*
Anti-defection law (India) The Anti-Defection law, or the 52nd Amendment to the Constitution of India, Indian Constitution is a constitutional amendment limiting the ability of politicians to switch parties in parliament. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected M ...
*
Aisle (political term) In the United States, the two major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, are often referred to as "the two sides of the aisle." Origin of the usage Usage of the term "aisle" comes from the United States Congress. In the Senat ...
*
Conscience vote A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party. In a parliamenta ...
* Crossover voting *
Floor crossing (South Africa) Floor crossing was a system introduced to the post-apartheid South African political system in 2002, under which members of Parliament, members of provincial legislatures and local government councillors could change political party (or form a ne ...
* Katak (Malaysia) *
List of British politicians who have crossed the floor This is a list of members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the House of Lords, British members of the European Parliament, members of the British devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved legislatures (such as the Scottish Parliam ...
*
List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor This is a list of Canadians, Canadian politicians who have crossing the floor, crossed the floor, in that they have changed party affiliation while in office. These are Member of Parliament (Canada), members of Parliament (MPs) unless otherwise ...
* List of United States representatives who switched parties * List of United States senators who switched parties *
Party switching Party switching or party hopping is any change in political party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one currently holding election, elected office. Party switching occurs quite commonly in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Italy, Romania ...
for a similar concept *
Trasformismo ''Trasformismo'' was the method of making a flexible centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the political left and the political right in Italian politics after the Italian unification and before the rise of Benito Musso ...
for a similar concept in Italy *
Waka-jumping In New Zealand politics, waka-jumping is a colloquial term for when a member of Parliament (MP) either switches political party between elections (taking their parliamentary seat with them and potentially upsetting electoral proportionality ...
*
Whip (politics) A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, conscience vote, individual conscience or donors) in a legislat ...
, in UK politics voting against the party line is known as "defying the whip" *
Party discipline The term party discipline is used in politics in two closely related, yet distinct, meanings. In a broad sense (also known as party cohesion), the discipline is adherence of the party members at large to an agreed system of political norms and ru ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossing The Floor Politics Westminster system Party switching