The MHoC Constitution is a binding document containing the rules of the Model House of Commons that the Speaker must obey, or they could face a Motion of No Confidence. The content of the MHoC Constitution can be altered through an amendment.
MHoC Constitution Content[]
Accurate as of 4th December 2020
1.The Speaker[]
1.1.has the following responsibilities:
- 1.1.1.overseeing the house as a forum assistant and ruling where the Constitution does not specify a course of action
- 1.1.2.being group leader of the MP user group and admitted elected MPs
- 1.1.3.organising the debate and voting on bills, amendments and motions
- 1.1.4.updating the Hansard, MHoC Constitution and MHoC Guidance Document
- 1.1.5.running general, speakership, deputy speakership and, if requested, party leadership elections
- 1.1.6.enforcing the Constitution
1.2.shall be elected by the MP’s of the House of Commons, following the procedure set out in the MHoC Guidance Document
1.3.must be a current or former MP when standing for election
1.4.must resign from their seat and remain politically neutral throughout their speakership
1.5.can be removed by a motion of no confidence.
2.The Deputy Speaker(s)[]
2.1.support the Speaker and fill in in their absence
2.2.shall be elected and serve as above, except that Deputy Speakers can retain their seats and party affiliation, while still remaining politically neutral when conducting speakership business
2.3.are responsible for running a motion of no confidence in the Speaker, and the subsequent Speakership election should this pass.
3.The General Election[]
3.1. will elect 50 MPs using the d’Hondt method
3.2. will be held if a general election is held in real life, if the Prime Minister calls one, if any of the conditions in the MHoC Guidance Document under "Coalition Breakup" are met, or if 6 months have passed since the last election (this can be postponed for up to 30 days at the Speaker’s discretion).
3.3. shall follow the format in the Guiding Document.
4.MPs[]
4.1.are the only members of the house who may vote on bills, amendments, motions, petitions or votes of no confidence in the Government, Speaker or Deputy Speaker(s), and the only members bar the Speaker and Deputy Speakers who may post in the Division Lobby.
4.2.can be independently elected or appointed by party leaders up to the amount of seats that party won in the last election
4.3.can appoint a proxy to vote when they are unable to do so
4.4.leave their seats with their party if they choose to leave, with the exception of independent MPs who retain their seat if they join or leave a party.
4.5 A list of MPs, as well as leader and deputy leader (or equivalent) of each party will be listed on the relevant party’s Q+A thread.
- 4.5.1 Should an MP be replaced within the party, even by a replacement MP for a short period of time, this should be notified in the relevant parties Q+A thread within 48 hours at maximum.
4.6 May not opt out of receiving the update PMs from the Speaker.
- 4.6.1 Any MP who refuses to receive the PM must be replaced within 48 hours by their party leader.
5.Parties[]
5.1.are formed when approved by the administration team and Speaker (please see the Guiding Document)
5.2.are administered by the Speaker until a party leader is elected, thereafter administration responsibilities fall to the party leader
5.3.will be shut down if either:
- 5.3.1.there is no activity in their sub-forum for a period of 1 month. For a party serving in government, activity in the government subforum will count as party subforum activity for the purposes of this requirement.
- 5.3.2.none of their MPs vote for a period of 1 month
- 5.3.3.the party leader steps down and no-one replaces them
- 5.3.4.the Speaker deems them to be inactive
6.The Government[]
6.1.is formed by the party or coalition with the most seats. In the event of a tie in the number of seats, which party or coalition forms the Government shall be decided by, in order (moving to the next one if tied), the highest number of votes in the preceding election, the lowest number of parties in the coalition, the highest number of seats in a single party in a coalition, and the highest number of votes in a single party in a coalition. If these are all equal, there is no government.
6.2.shall form as per by the MHoC Guidance Document.
7.The Opposition[]
7.1.is formed by the party with the largest number of seats not in the formed Government.
- 7.1.1 in the event of a tie in the number of seats, the party with the largest number of votes within the ties shall form the Opposition. If these are also equal, there is no Opposition.
7.2.shall form as per by the guiding document.
8.Bills[]
8.1.can be submitted by:
- 8.1.1.a party with at least one MP (as a party bill through the party’s designated person for submitting bills)
- 8.1.2.an MP (as a private members bill)
- 8.1.3.a party without an MP (as a party bill) or a non-MP (as a private members bill) when seconded by an MP, who must also be named on the bill
8.2.will be laid out in the format and following the timings given in the guiding document
8.3.will be passed if more MPs vote Aye than No.
9.Amendments[]
9.1. Amendments to the Constitution or Guidance Document can be submitted by:
- 9.1.1. The Speaker when seconded by at least 2 MPs from different parties, all of whom must all be named on the amendment;
- 9.1.2. An MP when seconded by 4 other MPs, at least one of whom must be from a different party and all of whom must all be named on the amendment;
- 9.1.3. An MP when seconded by the Speaker and 2 other MPs, at least one of whom must be from a different party and all of whom must all be named on the amendment;
- 9.1.4. A non-MP when seconded by the Speaker and 3 MPs, at least one of whom must be from a different party and all of whom must all be named on the amendment, or;
- 9.1.5. A non-MP when seconded by 5 MPs, at least one of whom must be from a different party and all of whom must all be named on the amendment.
9.2. Amendments will be laid out in the format and following the timings given in the Guidance Document.
9.3. Amendments to the Guidance Document will be passed if more MPs vote Aye than No.
9.4. Amendments to the Constitution will be passed if twice as many MPs vote Aye as No.
10.Motions of No Confidence[]
10.1. can be called in: 10.1.1. The Speaker 10.1.2. The Deputy Speaker(s) 10.1.3. The Government 10.1.4. Party Leaders
10.2. remove the subject in question and, except in the case of a vote of a government losing a motion of no confidence, shall lead to a new election. In the case of a new Speakership election following a motion of no confidence, it is run by a Deputy Speaker who is not running, or failing that a supermoderator or administrator.
10.3. when successfully called in the government will disband the current government and allow parties 7 days to propose a coalition government. If the Motion of No Confidence was called in a coalition government, that same coalition government may not reform for the rest of that term.
10.4. A motion of no confidence can be called in the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker(s) or the Government at any time, unless:— 10.4.1. less than two weeks have passed since the previous Motion of No Confidence in that position ended; or 10.4.2. the position has been filled for a period of less than two weeks.
10.5. can be submitted by:— 10.5.1. an MP when seconded by 4 other MPs, at least one of whom must be from a different party, who must all be named on the motion. 10.5.2. the requirement for the Motion of No Confidence to be seconded by a member of another party shall be waived if there is only a single party not part of the government.
10.6. the form of motions shall be:— 10.6.1. in the Government, "This House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government."; 10.6.2. in the Speaker, "This House has no confidence in the Speaker."; 10.6.3. in the Deputy Speaker(s), "This House has no confidence in the Deputy Speaker(s)."; 10.6.4 the statement may be followed by an explanation of the reasons so as to act as an opening statement.
10.7. When a valid Motion of No Confidence in the Government, the Speaker, or the Deputy Speaker(s) is submitted to the Speaker (or Deputy Speaker in the case of a motion of no confidence in the Speaker), the Speaker (or Deputy Speaker) shall post the motion in time for its inclusion in the first TSR Model House of Commons Update after the submission of the motion.
11. Referendums[]
11.1 A referendum can be held at any point during a term.
11.2 Referendums will be voted on by the populous of TSR (who meet requirements - see MHoC Guidance Document).
11.3 A referendum can be called by process of a Bill or referendum petition being passed.
12. Party Membership[]
1) Members are only allowed to be in one Party, unless both Party Leaders and the Speaker agree. If a member wants to join a Party which is in a coalition, the Leaders of all Parties in the coalition must also agree.