Parliamentary group (Spain)

Last updated December 29, 2024

Parliamentary groups in Spain are the institutionalisation or parliamentarisation, of political parties.^[1]

Groups are unified actors with only one voice and together with committees (Spanish : comissiones) and are the main actors in Parliament. In other words the Spanish Parliament is a parliament of groups, not individual MPs who are constrained to act only as part of the group.^[2]^[3] MPs can only act autonomously when submitting oral or written questions.^[4]

All MPs are required to be members of a parliamentary group,^[5] usually of the party with whom they were associated when elected^[6] but groups can be made up of more than one party (usually when they share an ideology) to increase their profile in Parliament. MPs that cannot satisfy the rules for forming a group join the so-called Mixed Group. Further, parliamentary resources are distributed to groups, not individual MPs.

Each group has at least a President (party leader) and a Spokesperson, or party whip.^[7] The spokesperson votes on behalf of the entire group of members in parliamentary debate and the parliamentary committees with their vote weighted in proportion to the size of the group. The whip approves proposed amendments to bills and is the sole member of the group that can speak in debates in parliament.^[8] Individual MP’s can proposal bills but they must first be signed by at least 15 MPs which clearly means it will only be accepted if the group supports the bill.^[8]

Together, the Spokespersons form the Board of Spokespersons in each house, the council of party representatives in the chamber (Spanish : Junta de Portavoces). The primary function of this Board is to advise the house’s Bureau on the parliamentary agenda. However the Board also to decide on the composition of parliamentary committees.^[6]

Parliamentary Groups also appoint members to the Permanent Deputation (Spanish : Diputación Permanente) of each house, the role of which is to assume the powers of the relevant house when dissolved and safeguard the house’s privileges when not in session.^[9]

Parliamentary groups also exist in the regional legislatures. The European Parliament has an analogue called political groups.^[10] More generally Parliamentary group is also used.

National legislature

Senate

According to the Standing Orders of the Senate, the Senate's parliamentary groups needs a minimum of 10 senators to be formed and during the term of the legislature, this number can not go below 6 senators. In this case, the group would be dissolved.^[11]

Each group can freely choose their name^[11] and they have to present before the Bureau of the Senate in the five days after the constitutive session the request in which they must to indicate which senators will form part of the parliamentary group. In the case of regional senators (appointed by the regional legislatures), they have five days from their appointment to join one of the parliamentary groups.^[12]

The Senate's parliamentary groups are subdivided in Territorial Groups. These groups are formed by a minimum of 3 senators belonging to specific constituencies.^[13]

As of December 2024, in the 15th Senate, these are the Senate' parliamentary groups:^[14]

	Leader			MPs
Popular Parliamentary Group (GPP) People's Party (PP)		Alberto Núñez Feijóo	Alicia García Rodríguez	145
Socialist Parliamentary Group (GPS) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG)		Pedro Sánchez (PM)	Juan Espadas	89
Left for Independence Parliamentary Group (GPERB) Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) EH Bildu (EHB)		Sara Bailac Ardanuy		9
Plural Parliamentary Group (GPN) Together for Catalonia (JxCat) Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) Canarian Coalition (CC) Independent Herrenian Group (AHI)		Josep Lluís Cleries		7
Basque Parliamentary Group (GPV) Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG) (1)		Estefanía Beltrán de Heredia		6
Confederal Left Parliamentary Group (GPIC) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) (1) Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) Geroa Bai (GBai) Más Madrid (MM) Compromís 1 Independent		Carla Antonelli		6
Mixed Parliamentary Group (GPMX) Vox Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	Paloma Gómez Enriquez			4

Congress of Deputies

The Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales and the strongest of both houses. The requirements to form a parliamentary group in Congress are more complex:^[5]

The parliamentary groups needs a minimum of 15 MPs.
In the case of not having 15 MPs, the parliamentary groups with no less than 5 MPs with a 5% of the national vote or a 15% of vote in their constituency, can form a parliamentary group.

As in the Senate, the parliamentary groups have to be formed within the five days after the constitutive session of the House and they need the approval of the Bureau of the Congress.^[15]

As of February 2024, in the 15th Cortes Generales, these are the Congress' parliamentary groups:^[16]

	Leader			Ideology	MPs
Popular Parliamentary Group (GPP) People's Party (PP)		Alberto Núñez Feijóo	Cuca Gamarra	Conservatism Christian democracy	137
Socialist Parliamentary Group (GPS) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC)		Pedro Sánchez (PM)	Patxi López	Social democracy	121
Vox Parliamentary Group (GPVOX) Vox (Vox)		Santiago Abascal	Pepa Millán	Right-wing populism National conservatism	33
Plurinational Sumar Parliamentary Group (GPPS) United Left (IU) In Common We Can (ECP) Galicia in Common		Yolanda Díaz (SDPM)	Verónica Martínez	Left-wing populism Democratic socialism	27
Republican Parliamentary Group Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) Sovereigntists (Sobiranistes)		Oriol Junqueras	Gabriel Rufián	Catalan independence Social democracy Democratic socialism	7
Together for Catalonia Parliamentary Group Together for Catalonia (JxCat)		Carles Puigdemont	Míriam Nogueras	Catalan independence Right-wing populism	7
Euskal Herria Bildu Parliamentary Group (GPEHB) EH Bildu (EHB)		Mertxe Aizpurua		Basque nationalism Separatism Socialism Left-wing nationalism	6
Basque Parliamentary Group (GPV) Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)		Aitor Esteban		Basque nationalism Christian democracy Conservative liberalism	5
Mixed Parliamentary Group (GPMX) We Can (Podemos) Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) Canarian Coalition (CC) Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	Ione Belarra Néstor Rego Cristina Valido García Alberto Catalán			This group is formed by MPs without a parliamentary group, so the ideology is diverse.	7

Related Research Articles

The politics of Spain takes place under the framework established by the Constitution of 1978. Spain is established as a social and democratic sovereign country wherein the national sovereignty is vested in the people, from which the powers of the state emanate.

A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature.

The Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament in Madrid.

The Senate is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. The presiding officer of the Senate is the president of the Senate, who is elected by the members at the first sitting after each national election.

The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.

The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally the Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union, is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress. It currently consists of 128 members, who serve six-year terms.

The Cortes Generales are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.

The Senate of the Dominican Republic is the upper house in the bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic, and together with the Chamber of Deputies makes up the Congress.

An independent, non-partisan politician, or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.

The president of the Congress of Deputies is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales. The president is elected among the members of the Congress and is, after the king and the prime minister, the highest authority in the Kingdom of Spain.

The president of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Spanish Senate, the upper house of Spain's Cortes Generales. It is the fourth authority of the country after the Monarch, the Prime Minister and the President of the Congress of Deputies. The president is elected among and by the incumbent senators. When the president is unable to exercise power, vice presidents of the Senate exercise the powers of the Senate president.

The LXIII Legislature of the Congress of the Union, the 63rd session of the Congress of Mexico, was made up of senators and deputies that are members of their respective chambers. It convened on September 1, 2015, and concluded on August 31, 2018. It was succeeded by the LXIV Legislature in 2018.

María Luisa Carcedo Roces is a Spanish doctor, politician and former senator who belongs to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). From 2018 to 2020, she served as minister of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare after the resignation of Carmen Montón. Previously, she also served as the first High Commissioner for the Fight against Child Poverty from June to September 2018, a position within the Office of the Prime Minister.

Ignacio Cosidó Gutiérrez is a Spanish conservative politician, member of the People's Party (PP). He has been member of both the Lower and Upper House of the Cortes Generales, and directed the National Police Corps from 2012 to 2016. From 2018 to 2019, he served as Spokesperson of the PP parliamentary group in the Senate.

The Bureaus of the Cortes Generales are the governing bodies of each House of the Cortes Generales, the legislative branch of Spain. The Bureaus are made up of the President or Speaker of the House, the Vice Presidents or Deputy Speakers and the Secretaries. Each Bureau is regulated by the standing orders of its house.

The Board of Spokespersons (Spanish: Junta de Portavoces, is a parliamentary body of each house of the Cortes Generales and is a council of party representatives mainly entrusted with the task of advising the Bureau on the agenda of the Parliament. The Board also decides on the composition of parliamentary committees.

Ander Gil García is a Spanish teacher and politician who served as the 62nd and current president of the Senate of Spain from 2021 to 2023. Gil has been Senator for Burgos since 2011 and Spokesperson of the Socialist Group in the Senate from 2017 to 2021. Previously, Gil served as a local councillor for Valle de Mena from 1995 to 2011.

The 13th Senate of Spain was a meeting of the Senate of Spain, the upper house of the Spanish Cortes Generales, with the membership determined primarily by the results of the general election held on 28 April 2019. The Senate met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and was dissolved prematurely on 24 September 2019.

The Permanent Deputation, in Spain, is a parliamentary body consisting of a reduced number of members of parliament which assume the legislative powers of the Parliament when it is not in session. The members of this body are chosen proportionally to the number of deputies that each political group has. The chair of a permanent deputation is normally the speaker of the Parliament.

Maria José Rodríguez de Millán Parro, better known as Pepa Millán, is a Spanish lawyer, columnist and politician. She is a member of parliament for Madrid and spokesperson for Vox in the Congress of Deputies since July 2023.

References

↑ Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 141.
↑ Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 150,159.
↑ Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 49,52.
↑ Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 52.
1 2 Congress Standing Orders, Section 23.
1 2 Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 150.
↑ Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 57.
1 2 Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 151.
↑ Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 51.
↑ The Political groups of the European Parliament.
1 2 Senate Standing Orders, Section 27.
↑ Senate Standing Orders, Section 28.
↑ Senate Standing Orders, Section 32.
↑ "Cuadro resumen de Grupos Parlamentarios (Composición actual)" [Table of Parliamentary Groups]. www.senado.es. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
↑ Congress Standing Orders, Section 24.
↑ "Parliamentary groups of the Congress of Deputies for the 13th Cortes Generales".

Bibliography

Jalali, Carlos; Rodríguez Teruel, Juan (2019). "Parliamentary party groups in the Iberian democracies" (PDF). In Fernandes, Jorge M.; Leston-Bandeira, Cristina (eds.). The Iberian Legislatures in Comparative Perspective. Routledge. pp. 49–70. ISBN 9781351065214.
Sánchez de Dios, Manuel (1999). "Parliamentary Party Discipline in Spain" (PDF). In Bowler, Shaun; Farrell, David; Katz, Richard (eds.). Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government. Ohio State University Press. pp. 141–162. ISBN 0-8142-5000-9.
"Standing Orders of the Congress of Deputies" (PDF). Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
"Standing Orders of the Senate". Senado de España. Senado de España. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
"The Political groups of the European Parliament". European Parliament. European Parliament. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

Notes

^{^} The parliamentary groups are divided according to political parties. Groups of less than 6 senators do exist because other political parties lend their senators to other parties in order to allow them to have a parliamentary group.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FOOTNOTESánchez_de_Dios1999141-1] Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 141.

[FOOTNOTESánchez_de_Dios1999150,159-2] Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 150,159.

[FOOTNOTEJalaliRodríguez_Teruel201949,52-3] Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 49,52.

[FOOTNOTEJalaliRodríguez_Teruel201952-4] Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 52.

[FOOTNOTECongress_Standing_OrdersSection_23-5] 1 2 Congress Standing Orders, Section 23.

[FOOTNOTESánchez_de_Dios1999150-6] 1 2 Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 150.

[FOOTNOTEJalaliRodríguez_Teruel201957-7] Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 57.

[FOOTNOTESánchez_de_Dios1999151-8] 1 2 Sánchez de Dios 1999, p. 151.

[FOOTNOTEJalaliRodríguez_Teruel201951-9] Jalali & Rodríguez Teruel 2019, p. 51.

[FOOTNOTEThe_Political_groups_of_the_European_Parliament-10] The Political groups of the European Parliament.

[FOOTNOTESenate_Standing_OrdersSection_27-11] 1 2 Senate Standing Orders, Section 27.

[FOOTNOTESenate_Standing_OrdersSection_28-12] Senate Standing Orders, Section 28.

[FOOTNOTESenate_Standing_OrdersSection_32-13] Senate Standing Orders, Section 32.

[14] "Cuadro resumen de Grupos Parlamentarios (Composición actual)" [Table of Parliamentary Groups]. www.senado.es. Retrieved 2024-12-28.

[FOOTNOTECongress_Standing_OrdersSection_24-15] Congress Standing Orders, Section 24.

[16] "Parliamentary groups of the Congress of Deputies for the 13th Cortes Generales".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]