Alec Samuels examines the law surrounding the length of parliamentary terms
How long should a Parliament last? Five years is the maximum, after which it automatically expires, and the statutory expectation seems to be that Parliament will last for the full five years (Septennial Act 1715 as amended by the Parliament Act 1911). However, in practice it has not worked out that way. Indeed, since the war the five-year Parliament has been less common than the shorter one. Who should decide when the next general election shall take place? And how?
Back in the day
In 1950, 1964, 1992, 1997 and 2010 the Parliament had lasted the full five years. It “went to the wire”. In 1951 Atlee “threw in the towel” after little more than a year. In 1955 the new Prime Minster Eden called an early election. In 1959 Macmillan did the same. In 1966 Wilson went early, in order to increase a slender majority; and in 1970 again he went early. In 1974 Heath called an early election, “Who governs Britain?”, and the answer was “the unions”. In 1976
