It seems to me that the defeat of the government in the referendum is sort of a vote of no confidence in the government.
In addition to an up or down, “Resolved, this House have no confidence in Her Majesty’s government”, there are other motions which are “no confidence” equivalents, the budget, for example.
How is this not such a situation? Please discuss.
In addition to an up or down, “Resolved, this House have no confidence in Her Majesty’s government”, there are other motions which are “no confidence” equivalents, the budget, for example.
How is this not such a situation? Please discuss.
You are absolutely correct - such a case can certainly be made. However, David Cameron's resignation as Prime Minister (albeit one that doesn't take effect immediately) functionally defuses that. When faced with a vote of no confidence, a Prime Minister traditionally has two options - to resign as Prime Minister so a new Prime Minister who can form a new government that has the confidence of the House, can be formed, or to go to a general election. Cameron has taken the former option.
When Parliament resumes, the House still has the option to call for a vote of no confidence if it wants to - but is very unlikely to do so given Cameron has resigned. In this case, Cameron actually probably could have even survived if he'd really decided to fight, but he's 'done the honourable thing'.