I know people are technically voting for their MP in a General Election, rather than the Prime Minister, but a change in leader for any governing party should probably trigger an election within a set timeframe.
Liz Truss
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East Level 2
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Gabriel
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Since 1945 there have been almost as many such changes between General Elections. If it were still the case that the next prime minister could be agreed upon solely by the MPs (Eden-MacMillan, MacMillan-Douglas-Home, Wilson-Callaghan, Thatcher-Major, Blair-Brown), thus not necessitating any membership involvement, then there would be smoother transitions and less need for early General Elections.
One could argue that it is this obsession with democratising the process, i.e. opening it up to the party memberships, that has created the problem. It takes a long time to elect a new leader (longer even than a General Election!) and the process of hustings and televised debates means it’s hard to determine when a candidate is appealing to their party or appealing to the public at large, so naturally the latter feel invested and believe they too should have a say.
The situation has not been helped by MPs (e.g. Rees-Mogg) making their own political capital from events and claiming that new leaders (even their own!) don’t enjoy a mandate so need to go back to the people. I’m unsure how ‘within a set timeframe’ could work, particularly if a change of leadership occurred close to a General Election, but unless we return to accepting the will of the MPs, then there is every likelihood that we’ll be visiting the ballot box more frequently.
BrianW
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The problem is the position of PM has become presidential. This was started by Margaret Thatcher, before that woman the Cabinet was more collegiate.
Essentially, if we want a presidential-style leader, that person should be directly elected and have an individual mandate.
Alternatively, we could grow up as a nation and treat the Cabinet as a collective, and stop making such a massive deal about the perceived personality of the PM, how he/she dresses, and so on.
Of course, if you want a presidential-style leader the Constitution needs to be changed and there are all sorts of implications. You could, for example, elect a PM who has not got a majority in the House.
In my view, it would be sensible to have party leaders elected by MPs only. In the last analysis, the MPs are best placed to judge a leader from their side and their confidence in the elected person is absolutely key.
What we have now is an utter shambles, neither fish nor fowl.
Essentially, if we want a presidential-style leader, that person should be directly elected and have an individual mandate.
Alternatively, we could grow up as a nation and treat the Cabinet as a collective, and stop making such a massive deal about the perceived personality of the PM, how he/she dresses, and so on.
Of course, if you want a presidential-style leader the Constitution needs to be changed and there are all sorts of implications. You could, for example, elect a PM who has not got a majority in the House.
In my view, it would be sensible to have party leaders elected by MPs only. In the last analysis, the MPs are best placed to judge a leader from their side and their confidence in the elected person is absolutely key.
What we have now is an utter shambles, neither fish nor fowl.
East Level 2
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The current government may not be fowl but they are certainly foul.
journolud
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Agree with you up until the last but one paragraph. Given the fawning of Tory MPs over the current lightweight fuckwits and the stubborn refusal to condemn Johnson previously I have no faith that they could objectively opine on anyone’s suitability for office
Brightwell Bros.
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Is the Conservative ‘war on woke’ doomed to fail?
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are both seeking to blame a faceless 'woke' army for the failings of their own government.
adambienkov.substack.com
bluethrunthru
Well-Known Member
Is the Conservative ‘war on woke’ doomed to fail?
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are both seeking to blame a faceless 'woke' army for the failings of their own government.
They are frightened - not of losing because I think they have now baked that in to the short/medium term of the Tory Party - what they all truly fear is the backlash when the truths are out about what they have done since 2019 - there will be uproar, outrage and calls for retribution