Crossing the floor

Part of the Politics series
Party politics
Political spectrum Left-wing Far-left Centre-left Centre Centre-left Radical centre Centre-right Right-wing Centre-right Far-right
Platforms/Ideologies Anarchist Christian democratic Communist Conservative Democratic Environmentalist Fascist Fundamentalist Globalist Green Internationalist Liberal Libertarian Nationalist Pirate Party Populist Progressive Radical Regionalist Republican Social democratic Socialist Syncretic
Types Bloc party Elite party Cartel party Competitive Catch-all party Entrepreneurial party Ethnic party Mass party Ruling party Opposition party Parliamentary opposition Official party status Single-issue party Transnational / International
Leaders and organization Backbencher Caucus Caucus chair Frontbencher Lead candidate Leader of the Opposition Majority leader Minority leader Political faction Parliamentary leader Party chair Party leader Party spokesperson Secretary Shadow cabinet Whip
Internal elections Primary election Leadership election Open list Party convention/conference Leadership convention
Party discipline Conscience vote Crossing the floor Party discipline Party line Party-line vote Party switching
Party systems One-party Dominant-party Two-party Multi-party Non-partisan
Coalitions between parties Parliamentary group Divided government Coalition government Confidence and supply Consensus government Grand coalition Hung parliament Majority government Minority government National unity government Rotation government
Lists of political parties Ruling parties by country Political parties by region Banned political parties
Politics portal
v t e

In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. In Australia though, this term simply refers to Members of Parliament (MPs) who dissent from the party line and vote against the express instructions of the party whip while retaining membership in their political party (at least for the time being).

Voting against party lines may lead to consequences such as losing a position (e.g., as minister or a portfolio critic) or being ejected from the party caucus. While these practices are legally permissible in most countries, crossing the floor can lead to controversy and media attention. Some countries like Malaysia, India,^[1] the Maldives and Bangladesh^[2] have laws that remove a member from parliament due to floor-crossing.