What is it called when an MP moves to another party?

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What is it called when an MP moves to another party?

Crossing the floor is the precise parliamentary term for an MP changing sides by moving from one party’s benches to the other in the House of Commons. This phrase captures not just the idea of changing allegiance but the actual action inside Parliament, which can alter voting dynamics and government support. While defection is a broader way to describe leaving a party, the specific act of changing sides during a session is described as crossing the floor. Joining a coalition isn’t about an individual MP moving between parties, and switching allegiances is a descriptive phrase but not the established parliamentary term.

Crossing the floor is the precise parliamentary term for an MP changing sides by moving from one party’s benches to the other in the House of Commons. This phrase captures not just the idea of changing allegiance but the actual action inside Parliament, which can alter voting dynamics and government support. While defection is a broader way to describe leaving a party, the specific act of changing sides during a session is described as crossing the floor. Joining a coalition isn’t about an individual MP moving between parties, and switching allegiances is a descriptive phrase but not the established parliamentary term.

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