Perhaps I have this wrong, but my understanding of the present position is that the Government may be defeated on a serious matter such as whether to go to war and may take the view that it is not a confidence motion. However, in such circumstances, the leader of the Opposition would table a confidence motion, which takes precedence over all business. If there is an argument about whether the issue is a confidence motion, it is up to the Opposition to bring forward a confidence motion on which there will be a vote, so why is this such a big problem?
Fixed-term Parliaments Bill
Proceeding contribution from
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
(Conservative)
in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 29 March 2011.
It occurred during Committee of the Whole House (HL)
and
Debate on bills on Fixed-term Parliaments Bill.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
726 c1187 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2023-12-15 15:43:06 +0000
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