The introduction of UK legislation to create fixed-term (5 year) Parliaments is, assuming it becomes institutionalized, a major constitutional reform. But in the short term it is also an enforcement mechanism for the current coalition. The proposed legislation would prevent the Prime Minister from unilaterally deciding to dissolve Parliament and hold a new election – and it would prevent a narrow vote of ‘no confidence’ from doing the same thing. Instead, this would require a supermajority vote in the House of Commons — set at 55%.
That number is notable. After all, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats between them hold, er, 56% of the Commons. So — the LDs are protected in that the Tories can’t dissolve Parliament out from under them in hopes of gaining a majority in their own right. The Tories are protected in that the LDs can’t collude with Labour and the smaller parties along those lines, since that collusion could at best comprise 53% of Commons seats, even making unrealistic assumptions about Northern Irish DUP votes.
Instead, “we will all go together when we go…”