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Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, or the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom is the largest opposition party in the House of Commons. This is usually the second-largest party, as the largest party will form the government. The role of the Opposition is to examine the government's proposals for new laws, scrutinise its policies and hold ministers to account and for this purpose, maintains a Shadow Cabinet. At the same time, it seeks to promote itself as a possible alternative government.
Since May 1997, the Official Opposition has been the Conservative Party.
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Origins
The phrase His Majesty's Opposition was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two party system, when parliament consisted of interests, relationships and factions rather than coherent political parties. Attacking the Foreign Secretary, George Canning in the House of Commons, John Hobhouse said:
"It is said to be hard on His Majesty's Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty's Opposition to compel them to take this course."
The phrase was widely welcomed and has been in use ever since.
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Opposition Days
Whilst most days in the House of Commons are set aside for government business, twenty days in each session are set aside for opposition debates. Of these days, seventeen are at the disposal of the Leader of the Opposition and three can be used by the leader of the smaller opposition party.
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Leader of the Opposition
Main article: Leader of the Opposition (UK).
The Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition is often seen as the Prime Minister in waiting. Since 1915, the Leader of the Opposition has, like the Prime Minister, always been an MP. Before that a member of the House of Lords sometimes took on the role, although often there was no overall Leader of the Opposition.
Though there has not recently been a dispute as to who holds the position under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 the Speaker’s
decision on the identity of the Leader of the Opposition is final .
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Prime Ministers Questions
Main article: Prime Minister's Questions
The most public parliamentary function of the Leader of the Opposition is Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), currently a 30 minute session held on Wednesday afternoons when Parliament is sitting. The Leader of the Opposition has 6 questions, which he usually splits into two sets. Other backbench opposition MPs also have the right to question the Prime Minister; they are selected either through a ballot, or by "catching the Speaker's eye". By convention other Shadow Cabinet members do not question the PM at PMQs, except when standing in for the Leader.
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Other Ministers Questions
Every government department is subjected to questions in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. As with PMQs, the official opposition spokesmen are allocated a number of questions, and in addition backbench MPs are free to ask questions. In the House of Lords, opposition spokesmen also question the government. This is one of the reasons why every government department (and opposition shadow department) has at least one MP and one peer in it.
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Seating
As is usual with Westminster style systems, and other statutory assemblies and councils in the UK, the government and its supporters sit to the right of the Speaker (from the speaker's perspective), whilst the Opposition parties sit to the left. Currently the Conservative Party occupies all the benches nearest to the speaker, including the frontbench directly opposite the usual seating places of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
The Liberal Democrats, Nationalist and Unionist parties, Respect, IKHH all occupy the benches further from the Speaker, together with some of the Conservative MPs. Since 1997 the Liberal Democrats have occupied the front bench in these seats, previously these had been occupied by the main opposition party .
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See also
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