Motion of No Confidence

An **motion of no confidence (MoNC)** is a statement, often followed by a vote, that an MP, party leader, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, or government is no longer deemed fit to hold that position. It is common for motion of no confidences to contain a detailed explanation of why the individual or government in question deserves to be replaced. When a motion of no confidence is voted on, it may instead be referred to as a vote of no confidence (VoNC). The Speaker will act as the returning officer for motions of no confidence, unless stated otherwise. The Speaker will reject a motion of no confidence if they deem it be inappropriate, and the motion of no confidence in question shall be added to Rejected Submissions. The Speaker may also reject a motion of no confidence if it does not have the required number of seconders.

#### **Motion of No Confidence against the Government**

A motion of no confidence can be called against the government at any point during a term of governance unless the government was formed less than two weeks prior to the motion, or less than two weeks have passed since the last motion of no confidence was called against the government. The person submitting the motion must be an MP and at least 4 MPs must second the motion, at least one of whom must be from another party unless only a single party is not part of the government. This requirement shall be waived however if there is only a single party not part of the government. Unlike other types of motions of no confidence, ones against the government may not always be called due to their incompetence; sometimes they are called if some opposition parties would like to form a government instead. Motions of no confidence against the government are regarded as the most significant.

To date, there have been 15 motions of no confidence against the government.

#### **Motion of No Confidence against an MP or Party Leader**

A motion of confidence can be called against a party leader at any point, this can be done by any member of the relevant party. In some parties, motions of no confidence can also be called against deputy leaders, chairs and MPs. All party-specific motions of no confidence will take place in the private party subforum. Parties can run such motions of no confidence themselves or can ask the Speaker to do it for them. Motions of no confidence against a party leader require someone to second them; this can be any member of the party. It is worth noting that some parties have their own ways of running motions of no confidence but if not, they will follow the standard motion of no confidence procedure.

#### **Motion of No Confidence against the Speaker/Deputy Speaker**

A Motion of No Confidence can be called against the Speaker or Deputy Speaker at any point during their tenure unless they have held the position for less than two weeks, or less than two weeks have passed since the last motion of no confidence was submitted against them. The person submitting the motion must be an MP and at least 4 MPs must second the motion, at least one of whom must be from another party. Although the Speaker can oversee a motion of no confidence in themselves, they may delegate the responsibility of returning officer to the Deputy Speaker or to a member of the moderation team.

#### **Motion of Confidence**

As well as motions of no confidence, motions of confidence may also be held. Any member with a position, and the government, can call a motion of confidence in themselves. These are often called after a controversy has taken place or if the person in question wishes to renew their mandate. Compulsory motions of confidence are held at the start of every term in the Speaker.

## Motion of no confidence procedure

All motion of [no] confidences follow a similar procedure to this, unless they are party-specific ones. The proposer of the motion of [no] confidence will send a private message to the Speaker with their motion attached. The Speaker should then acknowledge the motion of [no] confidence, create a thread for it in the main forum, and include the new motion of [no] confidence in their MHoC update. The motion of no confidence will stay in the House for a maximum of four days when a four day round of voting will take place in the Division Lobby. All MPs will be able to vote either in favour, against, or abstain. If there is a successful motion of no confidence in the government, there shall be a period of seven days for other parties to form a government. If there is a successful motion of no confidence in either the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, or a party-specific position, the member in question will be removed from their position immediately (except the Speaker who will be removed after a new one is elected) and an election to find their replacement shall commence. If there are unsuccessful motions of confidence in either the Government or a particular member, the same effect will happen. If there are unsuccessful motions of no confidence or successful motions of confidence however, business will resume as normal. The Speaker would still be expected to make a formal apology to the House though. It is worth noting that the proposer of a motion of [no]confidence has the power to withdraw it at any stage.