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55-825: The Parliamentary Labour Party ( PLP ) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons . The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour Party (which was created outside Parliament and later achieved office) and the Conservative and Liberal parties (which began as parliamentary factions). The term Parliamentary Labour Party refers to

110-550: A new leader if they lose confidence in their existing leader. The Chair of the PLP chairs meetings of the Parliamentary party. They are elected by Labour MPs at the start of each annual session of Parliament. By tradition, only elections at the start of each Parliament, following a general election , are competitive. From 1921 to 1970, the Chair of the PLP was also the leader of the party as

165-579: A range of services, including the administration of unemployment benefits. Belgium's three principal trade union organizations are the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC/ACV) (1,705,000 members), the General Federation of Belgian Labour (FGTB/ABVV) (1,198,000 members) and the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB/ACLVB) which has 230,000 members. Until

220-533: A region's group of countries') parliament(s), and, in a broader scope, to foster the bilateral relations between said countries. Parliamentary friendship groups play an important role in New Zealand's engagement in inter-parliamentary relations, with group members often called upon to participate and host meetings for visiting delegations from the other part, as well as often being invited by the other country's parliament to visit it. Friendship Groups do not speak for

275-494: A result of this, Belgian decision making can be slow and expensive. On top, it tends to significantly favour the more conservative parties. Given the historically very high public expenditure, and the very strict central control over taxation, even for revenues going to regions and communities, the tendency of Belgian governments to lower taxation and especially labour charges has been limited, at least if compared to radical-liberal approaches followed by certain other countries. From

330-450: A system of revenue-sharing for funds. They have the authority to levy a very few taxes (mostly surcharges) and to contract loans. Moreover, they have obtained exclusive treaty-making power for those issues coming under their respective jurisdictions. Of total public spending (interest payments not considered), more than 30% is authorized by the regions and communities, although their financing comes for over 80% from national Belgian budgets; at

385-749: A whole; before 1921, leadership of the party was arguably split between the Chairman of the PLP, the General Secretary and the Party Chairman . When the leaders of the Labour Party joined coalition governments during the First and Second World Wars , an acting chair was appointed to lead the rump of the party in Opposition. When the Party was in government, a liaison committee was elected to facilitate communications between

440-467: Is a highly unionised country, and organised labour is a powerful influence in politics. About 53% of all private sector and public service employees are labour union members. Not simply a "bread and butter" movement in the American sense, Belgian labour unions take positions on education, public finance, defence spending, environmental protection, women's rights, abortion , and other issues. They also provide

495-609: Is deputy to a minister and is part of the federal Government, but does not sit in the Council of Ministers. Members of the Federal Government, who are formally appointed by the King, are in fact drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition . The Federal Government must enjoy the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives. The total number of ministers, excluding

550-474: Is in power, they serve as back offices for ministers' cabinets. Another important characteristic of Belgian national politics is the highly federal nature of decision making. Important decisions require both a national majority (2/3 for constitutional changes), as well as majorities in the two main language groups. On top of that, both these communities can activate 'alarm bell'-procedures, delaying changes. In addition, there are no national parties to speak of. As

605-528: Is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision-making process where the minority (the French-speakers ) enjoy important protections through specialty majorities (2/3 overall and majority in each of the 2 main communities). According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Belgium was 2023 the 8th most electoral democratic country in the world. The Constitution of Belgium , the primary source of law and

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660-578: Is the most important court in Belgium. Judges are appointed for life by the Belgian monarch. The election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives is based on a system of open list proportional representation . Several months before an election, each party forms a list of candidates for each district. Parties are allowed to place as many candidates on their lists as there are seats available. The formation of

715-507: Is to support the leadership by enforcing party discipline . In Armenia , political parties often form parliamentary groups before running in elections. Prior to the 2021 Armenian parliamentary elections , four different parliamentary groups were formed. A parliamentary group must pass the 7% electoral threshold in order to gain representation in the National Assembly . Higher electoral thresholds for parliamentary groups discourages

770-407: Is typically led by a parliamentary group leader or chairperson , though some parliamentary groups have two or more co-leaders . If the parliamentary group is represented in the legislature, the leader is almost always chosen from among the sitting members; if the leader does not yet have a seat in the legislature, a sitting member of the group may be expected to resign to make way for him or her. If

825-724: Is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives . The federation is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions . Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013. Since around 1970, the significant Belgian national political parties have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests, besides defense of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though all close to

880-537: The European Parliament . Before 2014, they were held every four years and were held separately. The community and regional parliaments are elected every five years, and their elections coincide with those for the European Parliament as well. Elections for the members of Belgium's municipal and provincial councils are held every six years. The latest municipal and provincial elections were held in 2018 and

935-496: The Netherlands ( fractie ); Poland ( klub ), Switzerland ( fraction / Fraktion / frazione ); Romania ( grup parlamentar ); and Russia ( фракция/fraktsiya ), Spain ('grupo parlamentario'), and Ukraine ( фракція/fraktsiya ). Generally, parliamentary groups have some independence from the wider party organisations. It is often thought improper for elected MPs to take instructions solely from non-elected party officials or from

990-486: The Parliamentary Friendship Groups , also called Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups , Friendship Parliamentary Groups , or Parliamentary Group of Friendship [and Cooperation] . "Parliamentary Friendship" groups are groups of congresspeople/members of parliament who voluntarily organise themselves to promote parliamentary relations between their own Parliament and another country's (or even

1045-504: The United Kingdom Parliament there exist associations of MPs called "all-party parliamentary groups", which bring together members of different parliamentary groups who wish to involve themselves with a particular subject. This term is in a sense the opposite of the term 'parliamentary group', which designates a group that includes only members of the same party or electoral fusion. One special kind of parliamentary groups are

1100-656: The United States Congress and the Parliament of Canada . A parliamentary group is sometimes called the parliamentary wing of a party, as distinct from its organizational wing . Equivalent terms are used in different countries, including: Argentina ( bloque and interbloque ), Australia (party room); Austria ( Klub ); Belgium ( fractie / fraction / Fraktion ); Brazil and Portugal ("grupo parlamentar" or, informally, "bancadas"); Germany ( Fraktion ); Italy ( gruppo ), Finland (eduskuntaryhmä/ riksdagsgrupp );

1155-627: The centre : the right-wing Liberals , the social conservative Christian Democrats and the Socialists forming the left-wing . Other important newer parties are the Green parties and, nowadays mainly in Flanders , the nationalist and far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as trade unions and employers' organizations such as the Federation of Belgian Enterprises . Majority rule

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1210-437: The lower house of Parliament proposes a new prime minister to the king. The king is also seen as playing a symbolic unifying role, representing a common national Belgian identity. Philippe succeeded his father Albert II on 21 July 2013 upon his abdication. The executive power is held by the prime minister and the ministers , who together form the Council of Ministers, and by the secretaries of state , each of whom

1265-696: The Brussels region, there is another form of intermediate government, constituted by institutions from each of the two competent communities. Those institutions ( COCOF for the French-speakers and VGC for the Flemings ) have similar competencies, although only COCOF has legislative powers, given by the French Community. For Brussels community matters common to both communities there is a Common Community Commission . Legislative powers in Belgium are divided between

1320-665: The CSC/ACV in Brussels. The FGTB/ABVV is led by President Michel Nollet. Belgium is a country in which language is a major political issue. In the 19th and early 20th century, Flemings did not enjoy the same rights as French-speakers, both de facto and de jure . When the country was founded in 1830 under a census voting system, only around 1% of the adult population could vote: nobility, haute-bourgeoisie and higher clerics, all of them French-speaking. A Flemish movement fought peacefully to gain equal rights, obtaining most of these. Minor issues exist also between German- and French-speakers. In

1375-546: The Government of their own country, or even for the whole of the Parliament/Congress to which they belong, as they are usually self-regulating and self-fulfilling. Parliamentary Friendship Groups are active in the national congresses/parliaments of countries such as Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Laos, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, and

1430-562: The House, such as the budget) or can be dispensed of by the House. The Chamber of Representatives is also the only house that votes the confidence to the Government. Each of the five components of the federal system ( Flemish Community , French Community , German-speaking Community , Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region ) have their own, directly elected unicameral council or parliament. They vote decrees (or ordinances in Brussels), that have

1485-521: The Leader of the Labour Party was elected by the PLP. Now, however, the party operates on a one member, one vote system, where all members are awarded a single vote, as well as affiliated organizations ( trade unions and socialist societies ) and temporary registered supporters. Instant-runoff voting (the "Alternative Vote") is used to conduct the election. Labour MPs retain the power to trigger an extraordinary or "special" Labour Party Conference to choose

1540-585: The Marxist concept of "class struggle" and seeks to achieve a just social order based on Christian principles. The CSC/ACV is not formally linked to its party political counterparts, the Christian Democratic parties (CD&V and CDH), but exercises great influence in their councils. The CSC/ACV is the leading union in all Flemish provinces, and in Wallonia's Luxembourg province . It has almost equal strength with

1595-521: The PLP, though they also meet (together with Labour Co-op members of the House of Lords) as the Co-operative Parliamentary Group, which has its own chair. Parliamentary group Parliamentary groups may elect a parliamentary leader ; such leaders are often important political players. Parliamentary groups in some cases use party discipline to control the votes of their members. Parliamentary groups correspond to " caucuses " in

1650-474: The United States, among many others. Politics of Belgium The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal , representative democratic , constitutional monarchy . The King of the Belgians is the head of state , and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government , in a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power

1705-571: The basis of the political system of the Country, was established on February 7, 1831. It has been changed several times, but the most relevant reforms were performed in 1970 and in 1993. In 1970, in response to a growing civil conflict between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities in Brussels, the Government declared that "the unitary state, its structure and functioning as laid down by law, had become obsolete". The new constitution recognised

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1760-504: The cabinet and Labour backbenchers – the chair of this committee also chaired meetings of the PLP as a whole during these periods. In 1970, the positions of Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the PLP were permanently split. There is also a deputy chair. Other groups have been established within the PLP, such as the Women's PLP and the LGBT+ PLP. Labour and Co-operative MPs form part of

1815-632: The creation of the Belgian state in 1830 and throughout most of the 19th century, two political parties dominated Belgian politics: the Catholic Party (Church-oriented and conservative ) and the Liberal Party ( anti-clerical and progressive ). In the late 19th century, the Socialist Party arose to represent the emerging industrial working class. These three groups still dominate Belgian politics, but they have evolved substantially in character. In

1870-474: The existence of strong communitarian and regional differences within Belgium , but sought to reconcile these differences through a diffusion of power to the communities and the regions. In 1993, the parliament approved a constitutional package transforming Belgium into a full-fledged federal state . The King of the Belgians is the constitutional head of the Belgian state and holds office for life. The duties of

1925-562: The fifties, the FGTB/ABVV was the largest confederation, since then, however, the CSC/ACV has become the leading trade union force. In the most recent works council elections held in 2004 the CSC/ACV garnered close to 53% of the vote, the Socialist confederation obtained 36%, and the Liberal confederation 10%. The Confederation of Catholic labour Unions (CSC/ACV). Organised in 1912, the CSC/ACV rejects

1980-544: The formation of parliamentary groups like Centre-right coalition and Centre-left coalition . In the Swiss Federal Assembly , at least five members are required to form a parliamentary group. The most important task is to delegate members to the commissions. The parliamentary groups are decisive in Swiss Federal Assembly and not the political parties, which are not mentioned in the parliamentary law. In

2035-471: The formation of parliamentary groups running in elections. The parliamentary groups of the European Parliament must consist of no less than 25 MEPs from seven different EU member states . No party discipline is required. Parliamentary groups gain financial support and can join committees. Hungarian mixed-member majoritarian representation rewards the formation of parliamentary groups, like United for Hungary . Italian parallel voting system rewards

2090-704: The foundation of the ecological parties Groen! and Ecolo . Especially in Flanders, the 1980s saw the growth of the far right, represented by the Vlaams Belang , which became one of the larger parties of the country in the 1990s. During the years surrounding the new millennium, an attempt at restructuring the political landscape took place, mainly taking the form of political cartels . Main Flemish parties: Main French-speaking parties: German-speaking parties: Belgium

2145-477: The king are laid out by the Belgian Constitution and other laws enforced under it. As titular head of state, the king plays a ceremonial and symbolic role in the nation. His main political function is to designate a political leader to form a new cabinet after an election or the resignation of a cabinet. In conditions where there is a "constructive vote of no-confidence," the government has to resign and

2200-728: The latest federal and regional elections were held in 2019. In Belgium, aside from a few minor German-speaking parties, most political parties are either Dutch-speaking (Flemish) or French-speaking; the only major bilingual party operating across all of Belgium is the Workers Party of Belgium (PVDA/PTB), a far-left party which first won seats in the Chamber in 2014 and as of 2019 has three seats in Dutch-speaking Flanders and nine seats in Brussels and Wallonia. Parties run their own think tanks ( centres d'études / studiedienst ), research outfits that draft policy. When their party

2255-494: The list is an internal process that varies with each party. The place on the list is considered to play a role in the election of a candidate, by giving stronger visibility to those high on the list; this phenomenon, however, seems to have lost importance since the last electoral reform. Belgian voters are given five options. They may: While there are some options to vote on more than one person, voters cannot vote for candidates of more than one candidate list (party). Doing so makes

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2310-506: The national, the regional and the community levels. The Belgian Federal Parliament consists of the Senate ( Dutch : Senaat , French : Sénat ) and the Chamber of Representatives ( Dutch : Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers , French : Chambre des Représentants ). The Chamber has 150 members; the Senate has 60. All 150 representatives are elected directly via a system of proportional representation. The Senate consists of 50 senators elected by

2365-424: The parliamentary and organisational leadership will be held by the same person or people, whether ex officio or not; other parties maintain a sharp distinction between the two offices. Nevertheless, in almost all cases, the parliamentary leader is the public face of the party, and wields considerable influence within the organisational wing, whether or not they hold any official position there. A parliamentary group

2420-464: The parliaments of the communities and regions, and 10 senators co-opted by the others. Since the Constitutional reforms of 1993 and 2013, the two Houses of Parliament do not sit on a level of parity: other than in cases regarding the constitutional, institutional or federal structure or international relation, the consent of the Senate either is not required (so-called "unicameral laws", voted only by

2475-677: The party in Parliament, whereas the term Labour Party refers to the entire Labour Party, the parliamentary element of which is the PLP. A similar body for the Conservative Party is the 1922 Committee . An organisation for former members, the PLP in exile , was established after the 2010 general election . The PLP holds regular meetings behind closed doors to question the Leader and to discuss its concerns. Labour MPs elect three of their number to Labour's National Executive Committee . Originally,

2530-415: The party is not represented in the legislature for the time being, the leader will often be put forward at a general election as the party's candidate for their most winnable seat. In some parties, the leader is elected solely by the members of the parliamentary group; in others, some or all members of the wider party participate in the election. Parliamentary groups often have one or more whips , whose role

2585-654: The prime minister, cannot exceed 15. Also, the number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers must be equal, with the possible exception of the prime minister. Ministers head executive departments of the government. The prime minister and his ministers administer the government and the various public services and the ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Chamber. The regional and community parliaments and governments have jurisdiction over transportation, public works, water policy, cultural matters, education, public health, environment, housing, zoning, and economic and industrial policy. They rely on

2640-456: The regional executives are the following: The two biggest regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are further subdivided into five provinces each. The Brussels-Capital Region is directly divided into 19 municipalities. In total, Belgium counts 581 municipalities . Provincial and local government is an exclusive competency of the regions. Therefore, one should see the relevant articles for more detailed information on provincial and local government. In

2695-489: The same time, the national government controls 100% of social security, and strictly limits the taxation policy by the federalized entities. As a result, Belgian institutions still control over 90% of the effective, global taxation levels on individuals and companies. Though since 1993 article 35 of the Constitution requires the creation of a list specifying federal as opposed to regional and communities' competences, such list

2750-627: The same value and are on the same juridical level as the federal laws. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code . It has a judicial review of legislative acts. It accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. The Court of Appeals is one level below the Court of Cassation , an institution based on the French Court of Cassation . The Court of Cassation (Dutch: Hof van Cassatie , French: Cour de Cassation )

2805-449: The small subset of the electorate represented by party members. In any case, the exigencies of government, the need to cooperate with other members of the legislature and the desire to retain the support of the electorate as a whole often preclude strict adherence to the wider party's wishes. The exact relationship between the parliamentary party and the party varies between countries, and also from party to party. For example, in some parties,

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2860-573: The socialist confederation in the Brussels area. Its president is currently Luc Cortebeeck  [ nl ] . The Belgian Socialist Confederation of labour (FGTB/ABVV). The FGTB/ABVV derives from the Socialist Trade Union Movement, established in the late 19th century in Walloon industrial areas, Brussels, and urban areas of Flanders. Today the FGTB/ABVV is the leading union in the provinces of Hainaut , Namur , and Liège and matches

2915-415: The vote invalid. Political campaigns in Belgium are relatively short, lasting only about one month. They are subjected to several limitations: Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting , thus having one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world. Elections for the Chamber of Representatives (Federal Parliament) are normally held every five years and coincide with those for

2970-509: The years before and after the Second World War, the linguistic problem became a stronger divisive issue in Belgian politics, with the emergence in the 1950s and 1960s of linguistic parties ( Volksunie , FDF and Rassemblement Wallon ). In the 1960s and 1970s, each of the main political parties of Belgium split into Flemish and French-speaking parties. After May 68 , the country saw a growing environmental and left wing movement, that led to

3025-399: Was never created. Therefore, the federal government continues to exercise all competences not explicitly dedicated to the lesser levels. The Flemish parties generally favour much larger community (and regional) autonomy, including financial and tax autonomy, while the francophone parties generally oppose it. The French-speaking parties tend to favour more state control. As of October 2019,

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