Petition Party Leadership Challenges

During my voting life, two Prime Ministers have held office without being elected by the nation.

Margaret Thatcher’s leadership challenge resulted in John Major taking the office of Prime Minister and the same again when Tony Blair stepped aside for Gordon Brown. Though democracy finally caught up with them both, it had still been side-lined for a time.

When I vote at a general election, I’m left with the choice of either voting for the person I believe will do the most good for my constituency or the candidate who’s party I want to see in power. This second choice I do with the firm understanding of a party’s agenda and its attitude towards the needs of the nation.

I propose a change to the law to put such protections to prevent a party leadership challenge from unseating the person holding the office of Prime Minister without taking it to the nation for a full election. Such a law should override party rules for the sitting party while they are in government.