Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
E5287
The Official Opposition (United Kingdom) is the largest political party in the House of Commons not in government, tasked with scrutinising and challenging the policies and actions of the ruling administration.
Observed surface forms (9)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
parliamentary opposition
ⓘ
political institution ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
ⓘ
surface form:
Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition ⓘ |
| associatedConcept |
Westminster system
ⓘ
parliamentary democracy ⓘ |
| composition | largest political party in the House of Commons not in government ⓘ |
| constitutionalStatus | key element of the UK constitutional system ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| currentLeader | Keir Starmer ⓘ |
| currentLeaderParty | Labour Party (UK) ⓘ |
| currentStatusAsOf | 2024 ⓘ |
| eligibleParties | any party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons not in government ⓘ |
| entitledTo |
Short Money
ⓘ
additional parliamentary time to question the government ⓘ |
| excludes | parties participating in a governing coalition ⓘ |
| function |
hold the executive to account
ⓘ
provide a government-in-waiting ⓘ represent alternative policy options to the electorate ⓘ |
| fundingSource | public funds via Short Money ⓘ |
| hasAllocatedTime | opposition days in the House of Commons calendar ⓘ |
| hasLeader |
Leader of the Opposition (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)
|
| hasOffice |
Leader of the Opposition (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
|
| hasOfficialSpokespersons | shadow ministers ⓘ |
| hasRight |
ask the first questions at Prime Minister's Questions
ⓘ
respond first to major government statements in the House of Commons ⓘ |
| hasShadowCabinet |
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
|
| historicalDominantParties |
Conservative Party (UK)
ⓘ
Labour Party (UK) ⓘ |
| leaderTitle |
Leader of the Opposition (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
|
| legalBasis | convention and parliamentary practice rather than a single codified statute ⓘ |
| legislativeBody |
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
ⓘ
British Parliament ⓘ
surface form:
Parliament of the United Kingdom
|
| loyaltyMeaning | opposes the government while remaining loyal to the constitutional order ⓘ |
| mayChangeAfter |
change of governing coalition or confidence arrangement
ⓘ
general election ⓘ |
| PMQFrequency | weekly when Parliament is sitting ⓘ |
| primaryRole |
challenge actions of the government
ⓘ
offer alternative policies to the government ⓘ scrutinise government policy ⓘ |
| recognizedBy | Speaker of the House of Commons ⓘ |
| scrutinyMethods |
debates
ⓘ
opposition day debates ⓘ parliamentary questions ⓘ select committees ⓘ |
| shadowMinistersRole | scrutinise corresponding government ministers ⓘ |
| ShortMoneyPurpose | assist opposition parties in carrying out parliamentary business ⓘ |
| symbolicRole | embodies loyal opposition to the Crown ⓘ |
Referenced by (16)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition
this entity surface form:
Loyal Opposition
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition Frontbench
this entity surface form:
Her Majesty's Opposition (historical term)
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
→
hasShadowCabinet
→
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
this entity surface form:
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
this entity surface form:
Opposition in the House of Lords
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition frontbench
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition frontbench
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition in the House of Commons
this entity surface form:
Official Opposition in the House of Lords