Under this bill, the arrangements for contingency government following the vacation of the Office of the Prime Minister will be formalised.

It is noted that the Office of the Prime Minister may become vacant for a number of reasons:
- Voluntary Resignation
- Compulsion following a loss of the Confidence of the House of Commons.
- Death
- Any other circumstances in which the Prime Minister is rendered incapable of leading the government.

Therefore, under this bill, all incoming Prime Ministers will be required to inform the speaker of 3 members of the House of Commons, in order of preference, who should be invited to take on the position of Acting Prime Minister in the event of the Office of the Prime Minister becoming vacant. There is no need for the nominations to be made public, nor any need for the individuals to be informed of their nomination.

If the Office of the Prime Minister should become vacant, the Speaker should offer the position of Acting Prime Minister as per the following line of succession:
1st Preference Nominee
2nd Preference Nominee
3rd Preference Nominee
The Deputy Prime Minister (or equivalent)
The Secretary of State for the Home Office (or equivalent)
The Secretary of State for the Foreign Office (or equivalent)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (or equivalent)
The Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (or equivalent)
Any other Secretaries of State (with the most experienced being offered the position first)
The Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of a recognised 3rd Party Group in Parliament
The Past Prime Ministers of Ostentia (with the most recent offered the position first)
An individual chosen by the Speaker

Obviously, individual MPs may appear more than once on this list, in which case they will not be asked to take up the position a second time. The Speaker is permitted to use his discretion in appointing the Acting Prime Minister, in that he may overlook candidates with security concerns or appoint the highest ranking available candidate should Ostentia find itself in a situation where an Acting Prime Minister is urgently needed.

The position of Acting Prime Minister shall have all the powers invested in the Office of the Prime Minister. However, the position is temporary, and shall immediately cease to exist following the appointment of a new Prime Minister. The Acting Prime Minister may not take any action to prevent the appointment of a new Prime Minister.

If a dissolution of Parliament is called, then the new Prime Minister will be appointed by the Speaker following the conclusion of the election.

If Parliament remains in session, then the Prime Minister shall be chosen by a vote of confidence in the ability of a specific MP to do the job. The Acting Prime Minister may be subject to such a vote, but in the event of a defeat they shall remain in the position of Acting Prime Minister. If after a week in which parliament has been able to sit, no such motion is succesful, it is recommended that the Speaker appoint the Acting Prime Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister.

The fundamental right of the Speaker to appoint the Prime Minister should not in any way be considered restricted by this bill.

[/bill]

Ok, basicly this just means that if a prime minister resigns mid term without declaring a successor, somebody steps into the position temporarily. It's a useful safeguard against the stagnation of the simulation.

I think it should be:

The Deputy Prime Minister (or equivalent)
The Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (or equivalent)
Any other Secretaries of State (with the most experienced being offered the position first)
The Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of a recognized 3rd Party Group in Parliament
The Past Prime Ministers of Ostentia (with the most recent offered the position first)
An individual chosen by the Speaker

This system allows for more flexibility, to take into account the problems that might be caused to the standard chain of succession by coalition governments etc.

There's also a security consideration - with the first three in line theoretically unknown, it would be harder to decapitate the Ostentian government.

Only one thing - it could take a long time to go down the list asking one person at a time and waiting for a response before moving on to the next person - it could be weeks before a new prime minister emerges.

Or he could ask them all at the same time and wait for the highest response...

If an Acting Prime Minister needs to be quickly appointed, the Speaker can basicly grab whoever on that list happens to be available at the time.

I'll support this bill on the grounds of we need some sort of contingency.