Who will choose the next Prime Minister? NOT the public.

Today our Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he will resign in autumn 2016. Why? And what next?

The people voted

Yesterday the British people voted, but it wasn’t an election, it was a referendum. In an election people choose a leader, but in a referendum, people have to answer a question. In this referendum, the question was ‘Should Britain remain in the European Union, or leave?’

On the losing side

Cameron was on the ‘Remain’ side in the referendum. He tried to persuade the majority of voters to vote ‘Remain,’ but he failed. When a politician fails at something very important, there is pressure on them to leave their job. I thought Cameron might fight to keep his job, but he has decided not to. He has resigned.

Not straight away.

It takes time to choose a new Prime Minister. Cameron can’t leave straight away, because Britain would be without a leader. And don’t forget, when he leaves his job he also leaves his house, because only the Prime Minister can live at 10 Downing Street.

How do we choose the next Prime Minister?

We don’t choose. Cameron is the leader of a political party called the Conservative Party. Only the people who belong to that party can choose the leader.

Why can’t the British people choose their own Prime Minister?

It’s because we have a voting system called Proportional Representation, and this is how it works.

I live in Central Newcastle. In the last election I voted for a local person to be my MP (Member of Parliament.) I chose a local woman from the Labour Party, and she won. (Good news for me!) She represents me, and all other Newcastle people, in parliament. I am happy that my MP is Labour, but unfortunately she is in a minority. If we count all the MPs from all the places in Britain, the majority are from the Conservative Party. That’s how the conservative party won the election.

At the time of the election, the leader of the Conservative MPs was David Cameron, so he became Prime Minister. But if the Conservative MPs want to change their leader, they can. They don’t need to ask the public.

Has this happened before?

Yes. In 1990 Margaret Thatcher was fired by her own Conservative MPs, and replaced by John Major. In 2007 Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair as Labour Party leader, and became Prime Minister.

How will the Conservatives choose a leader?

First, the Conservative MPs will choose two possible candidates. (They will probably argue about it a lot first, because it’s a big decision.) Then, they will ask all members of the Conservative Party to choose the best candidate, I think they vote by post.

Who will be the next Prime Minister?

It has to be a Conservative MP. It will probably be someone who led the ‘Leave’ side in the referendum, so some possible names are Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. All I can do is wait and see, because I am powerless to vote on this very important decision. That’s our democracy!

Perhaps now you will understand this famous quote by Winston Churchill, PM. “Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have ever been tried.”

Glossary

resign - give up a job/ leave a job.

European Union - A united group of countries in Europe.

persuade - convince

majority - most of. (Opposite = minority.)

represents - speaks for me.

two possible candidates - two possible leaders

democracy - a system of government which uses elections and voting.

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