Editing Crossing the floor (section)

{{Short description|Changing one's political allegiance while in office}}
{{Party politics}}
[[File:Australian Senate - Parliament of Australia.jpg|thumb|right|300px|In the [[Australian Senate]], Senators vote in favor of a motion by sitting on the benches to the president's right (left of photo), and against it by sitting on the benches to the president's left (right of photo)]]

In some [[parliamentary system]]s (e.g., in [[Canada]] and the [[United Kingdom]]), politicians are said to '''cross the floor''' if they [[Party switching|formally change their political affiliation]] to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. In [[Australia]], this term simply refers to Members of Parliament (MPs) who dissent from the [[Party line (politics)|party line]] and vote against the express instructions of the [[Whip (politics)|party whip]] while retaining membership in their political party.{{Efn|The [[Australian Labor Party]] has sanctions which can include expulsion of a member from the party if they cross the floor.}}

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]], [[Pakistan]], [[India]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/What-the-Anti-Defection-Law-says/article15777794.ece|title=What the Anti-Defection Law says|last=Venkatesan|first=J.|date=2010-10-12|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-03-27|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> [[Indonesia]], the [[Maldives]] and [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367/section-24624.html|title=The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh &#124; 70. Vacation of seat on resignation or voting against political party|website=bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd}}</ref> have laws that remove a member from parliament due to floor-crossing.