Don't look back in anger! A comparative review of how MPs can be expelled from their parliamentary party groups

by Jasper Nebel, Danny Schindler and Oliver Kannenberg

DOI: 10.36206/BP2024.02.eng

In the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections, the Identity and Democracy group expelled all members of the German far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany). While this was a publicly noticed spectacular incident, expulsions from Parliamentary Party Groups (PPGs) occur regularly and across different countries. Against this background, and drawing on our SOPiP project (Standing Orders of Parties in Parliament), this Blickpunkt sheds light on the formal rules for excluding MPs from their groups in parliament. Investigating 95 documents which span 15 countries plus the European Parliament, we found that almost two-thirds of the rulebooks include pertinent provisions. However, the rules vary greatly as to who takes the decision, on what grounds, and whether procedural safeguards exist. Sometimes, super majority requirements go together with several other protections for individual MPs. In rare cases, the leadership decides on expulsions with lower material and procedural hurdles. The relevance of such rules should not be overlooked since the sheer option to remove MPs from the group can influence the members' behaviour.