In a Westminster system, the members of parliament are elected by popular vote. A government is then formed by a party or coalition of parties that can command the support of the majority of parliament. The leader of this group is then named head of government by the ceremonial head of state.
The head of government must be able to control a majority of seats within the elected legislative chamber. If the parliament passes a resolution of no confidence or if the government fails to pass a major bill such as the budget, then the government must resign and new elections are called. The head of government can ask the head of state to dissolve the legislature and call for new elections and must do so periodically. Although the dissolution of the legislature and the call for new elections is formally done by the head of state, by convention the head of state acts according to the wishes of the head of government and does not possess any independent authority.
There are a number of consequences of the Westminister system. They tend to have extremely well-disciplined legislative parties in which it is highly unusual for a legislator to vote against their party and in which no confidence votes are very rare. Also, Westminister systems tend to have strong cabinets in which cabinet members other than the prime minister are politicians with independent basis of support. Conversely, legislative committees in Westminister systems tend to be weak.
Countries that follow the Westminster system include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
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