ABSTRACT
The period from 1974 to 1979, encompassing two Parliaments, was unique in twentieth-century parliamentary history. It was unique because of the juxtaposition of two not obviously compatible features. The first was the vulnerability of the Government. It was vulnerable to defeat in the division lobbies. It could be, and was, defeated as a result of (i) opposition parties combining against it during the periods when it was a minority government and (ii) its own backbenchers entering the opposition lobby. It suffered more defeats than any government in modern British history. The second feature, peculiar to the 1974-9 Parliament, was the longevity of the Parliament. Despite the fact that the Government was returned in October 1974 with a minuscule parliamentary majority, and lost that majority in April 1976, it survived into a fifth session. It was thus, remarkably, one of the longer Parliaments of the post-war era.
