What if nobody wants the job as leader of the UK Conservative Party?











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This question as quite hypothetical as I don't believe it will come to pass, but…



There is an ongoing situation in which Theresa May, Leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is facing a leadership challenge. If she loses, she cannot take part in the subsequent leadership election.



It has been said that currently, the Prime Minister faces a rather impossible job. I can imagine many good reasons to not want the job. In theory, if there is a leadership election but no candidates (or no candidates with enough support to get their name on the ballot), what happens next? Will the position remain vacant?










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    up vote
    7
    down vote

    favorite












    This question as quite hypothetical as I don't believe it will come to pass, but…



    There is an ongoing situation in which Theresa May, Leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is facing a leadership challenge. If she loses, she cannot take part in the subsequent leadership election.



    It has been said that currently, the Prime Minister faces a rather impossible job. I can imagine many good reasons to not want the job. In theory, if there is a leadership election but no candidates (or no candidates with enough support to get their name on the ballot), what happens next? Will the position remain vacant?










    share|improve this question


























      up vote
      7
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      7
      down vote

      favorite











      This question as quite hypothetical as I don't believe it will come to pass, but…



      There is an ongoing situation in which Theresa May, Leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is facing a leadership challenge. If she loses, she cannot take part in the subsequent leadership election.



      It has been said that currently, the Prime Minister faces a rather impossible job. I can imagine many good reasons to not want the job. In theory, if there is a leadership election but no candidates (or no candidates with enough support to get their name on the ballot), what happens next? Will the position remain vacant?










      share|improve this question















      This question as quite hypothetical as I don't believe it will come to pass, but…



      There is an ongoing situation in which Theresa May, Leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is facing a leadership challenge. If she loses, she cannot take part in the subsequent leadership election.



      It has been said that currently, the Prime Minister faces a rather impossible job. I can imagine many good reasons to not want the job. In theory, if there is a leadership election but no candidates (or no candidates with enough support to get their name on the ballot), what happens next? Will the position remain vacant?







      united-kingdom conservative-party






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      share|improve this question








      edited 4 hours ago









      owjburnham

      476312




      476312










      asked 4 hours ago









      gerrit

      17.8k669164




      17.8k669164






















          2 Answers
          2






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          up vote
          6
          down vote













          Conservative party rules require that the Leader is an MP. The constitution only requires that "There shall be a Leader of the Party, drawn from the Members of Parliament" It doesn't give any remedy in case no MP is willing to stand. It would be a big problem for the party, but no laws would be broken. The existing Leadership would probably remain in a caretaker role until someone is willing to stand.



          In terms of the constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet must nominate their successor. Normally this would be either the next leader of her party, or the leader of the opposition (in case that she had lost a vote of confidence and the leader of the opposition had been able to form a coalition).



          In the exceptional circumstances of there being nobody willing and able to form a government then surely MPs would have no confidence in the government, and a new election would be held. These would not be business as normal, and would probably lead to a collapse of the party. For all sorts of reasons, this isn't going to happen.






          share|improve this answer

















          • 4




            By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
            – gerrit
            3 hours ago












          • The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 hour ago










          • @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
            – Caleth
            56 mins ago






          • 1




            @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
            – Imperial Justinian
            51 mins ago


















          up vote
          4
          down vote













          The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the outgoing PM. Under normal circumstances, this is relatively straightforward: it's the leader of the party which, alone or in a coalition or other agreement, can command a majority in the Commons (or failing that, is likely to survive a confidence vote).



          However, in theory (and, in the distant past, in practice), the Queen could appoint anyone to the post if they have enough support in Parliament. There's even no requirement for the PM to be an MP (there have been a number of PMs who sat in the House of Lords), though it's unthinkable that that would be allowed these days.



          Also, the convention is that an outgoing PM does not resign until a successor is in place. So for example, Gordon Brown remained as caretaker PM for 5 days after losing the 2010 election, until it was clear that David Cameron would head a coalition government.






          share|improve this answer





















          • The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
            – pjc50
            9 mins ago










          • @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 min ago











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          2 Answers
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          2 Answers
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          active

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          up vote
          6
          down vote













          Conservative party rules require that the Leader is an MP. The constitution only requires that "There shall be a Leader of the Party, drawn from the Members of Parliament" It doesn't give any remedy in case no MP is willing to stand. It would be a big problem for the party, but no laws would be broken. The existing Leadership would probably remain in a caretaker role until someone is willing to stand.



          In terms of the constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet must nominate their successor. Normally this would be either the next leader of her party, or the leader of the opposition (in case that she had lost a vote of confidence and the leader of the opposition had been able to form a coalition).



          In the exceptional circumstances of there being nobody willing and able to form a government then surely MPs would have no confidence in the government, and a new election would be held. These would not be business as normal, and would probably lead to a collapse of the party. For all sorts of reasons, this isn't going to happen.






          share|improve this answer

















          • 4




            By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
            – gerrit
            3 hours ago












          • The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 hour ago










          • @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
            – Caleth
            56 mins ago






          • 1




            @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
            – Imperial Justinian
            51 mins ago















          up vote
          6
          down vote













          Conservative party rules require that the Leader is an MP. The constitution only requires that "There shall be a Leader of the Party, drawn from the Members of Parliament" It doesn't give any remedy in case no MP is willing to stand. It would be a big problem for the party, but no laws would be broken. The existing Leadership would probably remain in a caretaker role until someone is willing to stand.



          In terms of the constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet must nominate their successor. Normally this would be either the next leader of her party, or the leader of the opposition (in case that she had lost a vote of confidence and the leader of the opposition had been able to form a coalition).



          In the exceptional circumstances of there being nobody willing and able to form a government then surely MPs would have no confidence in the government, and a new election would be held. These would not be business as normal, and would probably lead to a collapse of the party. For all sorts of reasons, this isn't going to happen.






          share|improve this answer

















          • 4




            By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
            – gerrit
            3 hours ago












          • The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 hour ago










          • @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
            – Caleth
            56 mins ago






          • 1




            @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
            – Imperial Justinian
            51 mins ago













          up vote
          6
          down vote










          up vote
          6
          down vote









          Conservative party rules require that the Leader is an MP. The constitution only requires that "There shall be a Leader of the Party, drawn from the Members of Parliament" It doesn't give any remedy in case no MP is willing to stand. It would be a big problem for the party, but no laws would be broken. The existing Leadership would probably remain in a caretaker role until someone is willing to stand.



          In terms of the constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet must nominate their successor. Normally this would be either the next leader of her party, or the leader of the opposition (in case that she had lost a vote of confidence and the leader of the opposition had been able to form a coalition).



          In the exceptional circumstances of there being nobody willing and able to form a government then surely MPs would have no confidence in the government, and a new election would be held. These would not be business as normal, and would probably lead to a collapse of the party. For all sorts of reasons, this isn't going to happen.






          share|improve this answer












          Conservative party rules require that the Leader is an MP. The constitution only requires that "There shall be a Leader of the Party, drawn from the Members of Parliament" It doesn't give any remedy in case no MP is willing to stand. It would be a big problem for the party, but no laws would be broken. The existing Leadership would probably remain in a caretaker role until someone is willing to stand.



          In terms of the constitution, the Prime Minister and Cabinet must nominate their successor. Normally this would be either the next leader of her party, or the leader of the opposition (in case that she had lost a vote of confidence and the leader of the opposition had been able to form a coalition).



          In the exceptional circumstances of there being nobody willing and able to form a government then surely MPs would have no confidence in the government, and a new election would be held. These would not be business as normal, and would probably lead to a collapse of the party. For all sorts of reasons, this isn't going to happen.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 3 hours ago









          James K

          32.6k898139




          32.6k898139








          • 4




            By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
            – gerrit
            3 hours ago












          • The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 hour ago










          • @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
            – Caleth
            56 mins ago






          • 1




            @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
            – Imperial Justinian
            51 mins ago














          • 4




            By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
            – gerrit
            3 hours ago












          • The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 hour ago










          • @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
            – Caleth
            56 mins ago






          • 1




            @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
            – Imperial Justinian
            51 mins ago








          4




          4




          By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
          – gerrit
          3 hours ago






          By constitution, you mean the constitution of the Conservative Party or of the country? IIRC the UK as a country does not have a Constitution.
          – gerrit
          3 hours ago














          The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
          – Steve Melnikoff
          1 hour ago




          The quote is from the party constitution. I haven't been able to find a link to a recent version online, but here's the 2004 edition.
          – Steve Melnikoff
          1 hour ago












          @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
          – Caleth
          56 mins ago




          @gerrit the UK has a constitution, but it's not a single (amended) document
          – Caleth
          56 mins ago




          1




          1




          @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
          – Imperial Justinian
          51 mins ago




          @gerrit The UK does have a constitution, it is just "unwritten". Which is to say, it is made up of the numerous laws, customs, court judgements and Works of Authority. And Parliament can pass new laws to "amend" this at any point in time.
          – Imperial Justinian
          51 mins ago










          up vote
          4
          down vote













          The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the outgoing PM. Under normal circumstances, this is relatively straightforward: it's the leader of the party which, alone or in a coalition or other agreement, can command a majority in the Commons (or failing that, is likely to survive a confidence vote).



          However, in theory (and, in the distant past, in practice), the Queen could appoint anyone to the post if they have enough support in Parliament. There's even no requirement for the PM to be an MP (there have been a number of PMs who sat in the House of Lords), though it's unthinkable that that would be allowed these days.



          Also, the convention is that an outgoing PM does not resign until a successor is in place. So for example, Gordon Brown remained as caretaker PM for 5 days after losing the 2010 election, until it was clear that David Cameron would head a coalition government.






          share|improve this answer





















          • The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
            – pjc50
            9 mins ago










          • @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 min ago















          up vote
          4
          down vote













          The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the outgoing PM. Under normal circumstances, this is relatively straightforward: it's the leader of the party which, alone or in a coalition or other agreement, can command a majority in the Commons (or failing that, is likely to survive a confidence vote).



          However, in theory (and, in the distant past, in practice), the Queen could appoint anyone to the post if they have enough support in Parliament. There's even no requirement for the PM to be an MP (there have been a number of PMs who sat in the House of Lords), though it's unthinkable that that would be allowed these days.



          Also, the convention is that an outgoing PM does not resign until a successor is in place. So for example, Gordon Brown remained as caretaker PM for 5 days after losing the 2010 election, until it was clear that David Cameron would head a coalition government.






          share|improve this answer





















          • The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
            – pjc50
            9 mins ago










          • @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 min ago













          up vote
          4
          down vote










          up vote
          4
          down vote









          The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the outgoing PM. Under normal circumstances, this is relatively straightforward: it's the leader of the party which, alone or in a coalition or other agreement, can command a majority in the Commons (or failing that, is likely to survive a confidence vote).



          However, in theory (and, in the distant past, in practice), the Queen could appoint anyone to the post if they have enough support in Parliament. There's even no requirement for the PM to be an MP (there have been a number of PMs who sat in the House of Lords), though it's unthinkable that that would be allowed these days.



          Also, the convention is that an outgoing PM does not resign until a successor is in place. So for example, Gordon Brown remained as caretaker PM for 5 days after losing the 2010 election, until it was clear that David Cameron would head a coalition government.






          share|improve this answer












          The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the outgoing PM. Under normal circumstances, this is relatively straightforward: it's the leader of the party which, alone or in a coalition or other agreement, can command a majority in the Commons (or failing that, is likely to survive a confidence vote).



          However, in theory (and, in the distant past, in practice), the Queen could appoint anyone to the post if they have enough support in Parliament. There's even no requirement for the PM to be an MP (there have been a number of PMs who sat in the House of Lords), though it's unthinkable that that would be allowed these days.



          Also, the convention is that an outgoing PM does not resign until a successor is in place. So for example, Gordon Brown remained as caretaker PM for 5 days after losing the 2010 election, until it was clear that David Cameron would head a coalition government.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 3 hours ago









          Steve Melnikoff

          3,41211330




          3,41211330












          • The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
            – pjc50
            9 mins ago










          • @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 min ago


















          • The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
            – pjc50
            9 mins ago










          • @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
            – Steve Melnikoff
            1 min ago
















          The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
          – pjc50
          9 mins ago




          The last time something like this happened was with the Australian constitutional crisis in the 70s. It may yet come to pass that the Queen is involved - it's unlikely, but these are strange and stupid times, so we should not rule it out.
          – pjc50
          9 mins ago












          @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
          – Steve Melnikoff
          1 min ago




          @pjc50: agreed. A key difference (IMHO) is that although a Governer-General, like the Queen he or she represents, does try to stay out of politics and avoid crises, a GG is not the Queen. By which I mean that GGs are often former politicians, they're elected typically by parliament, and they can be removed. My impression is that the UK Cabinet Office goes to extreme lengths to avoid involving the Queen in matters like this. History suggests that this isn't always the case in other Commonwealth Realms.
          – Steve Melnikoff
          1 min ago


















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