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Coalition cohesion

Norton, Philip

Authors



Contributors

Timothy Heppell
Editor

David Seawright
Editor

Abstract

Anthony King (1976) identified different modes of executive-legislative relations. In the United Kingdom, the most visible is the opposition mode, in which the party in government is pitted against the party or parties, in opposition. This mode, as King notes, is marked by conflict. Each side is usually united as it faces the other side. However, cohesion may not be total. As a result, one other mode, the intra-party mode - encompassing opposition within a party - is significant because the party in government rests on the support of those who occupy its benches rather than those who sit opposite. If its ranks show signs of dissent then it may be in trouble. The opposition mode has been the dominant mode for more than a century, though in recent decades the intra-party mode has assumed greater significance as government backbenchers have proved more willing to vote against their party (Norton, 1975, 1978, 1980; Cowley and Norton, 1999; Cowley, 2002, 2005).

Citation

Norton, P. (2012). Coalition cohesion. In T. Heppell, & D. Seawright (Eds.), Cameron and the Conservatives: The transition to coalition government (181-193). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230367487_13

Publication Date Jan 1, 2012
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Pages 181-193
Book Title Cameron and the Conservatives: The transition to coalition government
Chapter Number 13
ISBN 9781349339525; 9780230314108
DOI https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230367487_13
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/409799
Contract Date Jan 1, 2012