The state of the opinion polls before the general election has prompted much speculation about what might happen if no government can be formed after it supported by a majority of MPs. In a letter published in The Daily Telegraph on April 27, Alistair Lexden recalled what occurred in such circumstances at the end of 1923:
SIR-The inconclusive election result of December 1923 (Comment, April 21) certainly merits attention today.
Stanley Baldwin, the incumbent Tory prime minister who had just lost his large Commons majority, stayed on, but not “ in the ultimately forlorn hope that the Liberals might keep him in office” and stop Labour ( the second largest Party) taking power. Shortly after the election, Herbert Asquith, the Liberal leader, made a speech in which he “declared war on the government”.
George V told Baldwin that the constitution required him to remain in office. “The Sovereign”, he wrote, “ought not to accept the verdict of the polls except as expressed by the representatives of the electorate across the floor of the House of Commons”. The prime minister’s resignation, if offered before that point, would be refused.
A full King’s Speech was read on January 15 1924 and voted down shortly afterwards. On taking office, Labour’s Ramsay MacDonald did not construct another speech, contenting himself with a personal explanation of his programme.
The Queen’s grandfather had no hesitation in using his royal prerogative powers. That seems inconceivable today. Has the country gained from the evolution of its constitution?
Lord Lexden
London SW1