# What if Blair had lost his constituency? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666 "2005-05-06T08:27:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/1 "2005-05-06T08:27:15Z")
I know how the English governmental and electoral system works, but there’s one question I wondered about repeatedly when readinga bout Britsih politics: What if a party wins the majority in the House, but the leader of the party loses his own constituency and therefore does not become MP? I guess the parties mostly nominate their leaders for strongholds, making sure this does not happen, but suppose Blair had lost Sedgefield, but Labour still wins the election as a whole. Would he be appointed Prime Minister nonetheless, or would the party nominate someone else for PM? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/2 "2005-05-06T08:30:41Z")
If Mr Blair had lost his seat but the Labour Party had still won a majority in the House of Commons, then the remaining members of the Labour Party would get together and elect a new party leader. The Queen would then commission the new leader of the Labour Party as PM. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/3 "2005-05-06T09:23:01Z")
Not necessarily. Its just as likely that a Labour MP in a safe seat who did win would resign so that the Party Leader could then stand in that seat and be returned to parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/4 "2005-05-06T09:24:20Z")
In 1963, there was a not disimilar occurence. Harold McMillan resigned as Prime Minister for health reasons. His chosen successor\* was Lord Alex Douglas-Home, who was a member of the House of Lords. Even back in 1963, it was considered an anachronism to have a Prime Minister from the Upper House, so Douglas-Home resigned his peerage (using the same act that Tony Benn used). A junior conservtive MP then resigned _his_ seat and Sir Alex won the re-election at Kinross & West Perthshire. \*This, in itself, in a whole other story. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/5 "2005-05-06T09:24:46Z")
Also, don’t forget that the Prime Minister doesn’t _have_ to be the party leader - the government is formed by whoever the Queen invites to form it. Its only convention that dictates that this is the Leader of the largest party in parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/6 "2005-05-06T09:25:54Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > The Queen would then commission the new leader of the Labour Party as PM. This process is referred to as [kissing hands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Hands) ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/7 "2005-05-06T11:10:53Z")
Prime Ministers don’t fight unwinnable constituencies. If boundary changes start to make the seat look doubtful they do the chicken run for a new one (as Gordon Brown had to this time) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/8 "2005-05-06T12:40:37Z")
> [@garius](#): > > Also, don’t forget that the Prime Minister doesn’t _have_ to be the party leader - the government is formed by whoever the Queen invites to form it. > > Its only convention that dictates that this is the Leader of the largest party in parliament. And isn’t it too a convention that the leader of said party must be a MP? What would prevent the Labour from keeping Blair as leader, had he not been relected? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/9 "2005-05-06T13:23:29Z")
Can anyone in the UK run for any constituency? Are there no requirements to actually reside in the area? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/10 "2005-05-06T13:32:00Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Can anyone in the UK run for any constituency? Are there no requirements to actually reside in the area? No , but what usually happens is that when someone is chosen to stand for that constituency they usually move into the area , even though this might mean just actually living there for a couple of days a week. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/11 "2005-05-06T14:06:09Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > And isn’t it too a convention that the leader of said party must be a MP? > > What would prevent the Labour from keeping Blair as leader, had he not been relected? They could keep him on, but constitutional convention would dictate that he had to get a seat in the Commons quickly, as others have pointed out. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how a party deals with this issue - really, it depends upon whether the PM still has the support of the party. If he’s got that support, they’d be willing to let someone else resign in a safe seat to get him back into Parliament. But if the PM’s support is shaky to start with, failure to win his own seat could be enough to rally opposition to him within the party and lead to a leadership challenge. In a Canadian example, Prime Minister King’s government won re-election in 1925, but King lost his seat. There were apparently some rumblings of a leadership challenge, but King managed to fight it off long enough to win a safe seat. If his opponents within the party had been stronger, it’s possible he could have been booted from the leadership position and replaced by someone else. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > Can anyone in the UK run for any constituency? Are there no requirements to actually reside in the area? It’s the same in Canada - no residency requirment. Heck, you don’t even have to live in the province where your riding is located. In the King example, King had held a seat in Ontario. After he lost it in the 1925 election, the MP for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, resigned and King ran there. He never moved to Saskatchewan, but represtented Prince Albert for the next 20 years, until the voters of that riding defeated him. Undeterred, he had an MP in North York, Toronto, resign, and successfully ran there. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/12 "2005-05-06T14:26:25Z")
On a side note the Prime Minister’s constituency can throw up some interesting candidates. This year’s highlights were (party name in brackets): Cherri Blairout-Gilham (Pensioners Party) William John Brown (We Want Our Country Back) Jonathan McQueen Cockburn (The Blair Must Go Party) Melodie Elizabeth Staniforth (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) Elections just wouldn’t be the same without the Monster Raving Loony Party to liven things up 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/13 "2005-05-06T14:29:03Z")
> [@Mk VII](#): > > If boundary changes start to make the seat look doubtful they do the chicken run for a new one (as Gordon Brown had to this time) Huh? Doesn’t his new enlarged constituency include most of his old one? (And not only do you not have to live in a constituency to run for it, you can also stand in more than one…) ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/14 "2005-05-06T14:31:41Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > On a side note the Prime Minister’s constituency can throw up some interesting candidates. This year’s highlights were (party name in brackets): > > Cherri Blairout-Gilham (Pensioners Party) > William John Brown (We Want Our Country Back) > Jonathan McQueen Cockburn (The Blair Must Go Party) > Melodie Elizabeth Staniforth (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) > > Elections just wouldn’t be the same without the Monster Raving Loony Party to liven things up 🙂 The Monster Raving Loonies have not been the same since Lord Sutch died. They need a new leader. Perhaps they could choose Kilroy-Silk , he’s mad as a hatter. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/15 "2005-05-06T15:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > And isn’t it too a convention that the leader of said party must be a MP? Yup, otherwise parties like Veritas, UKIP and the Greens couldn’t exist. Of course, to be Prime Minister you need to be an MP though (and preferably have some experience as a Government Minister) - so they need to get elected at some point! 😃 **POP QUIZ!** Only two Prime Ministers this Century have been elected who’ve had **no** prior Ministerial experience. Who were they? ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/16 "2005-05-06T15:21:03Z")
Or rather in the **Twentieth Century** :wally ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/17 "2005-05-06T15:47:24Z")
> [@garius](#): > > **POP QUIZ!** Only two Prime Ministers this Century have been elected who’ve had **no** prior Ministerial experience. Who were they? Ramsey MacDonald and Tony Blair? ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/18 "2005-05-06T15:58:03Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > A junior conservtive MP then resigned _his_ seat and Sir Alex won the re-election at Kinross & West Perthshire. It’s a nitpick, but Kinross & West Perthshire was actually going to have a by-election anyway and so it only required that the Conservative candidate stand aside, rather than have an MP resign. And, incidentally, that candidate was George Younger, who went on to have a significant ministerial career in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/19 "2005-05-06T16:21:27Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Ramsey MacDonald and Tony Blair? Mr. MacDonald and Mr Blair were elected PMs in the last century. (Unless “this century” refers to the 1900s 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666/20 "2005-05-06T16:22:36Z")
So is it correct to say that the answer to the OP’s question is – If Blair had lost his seat in his constituency election, things would be put on hold until another safe-Labour seat came open (perhaps by the resignation of a sitting Labour M.P.) and Blair won that seat in a bye-election. Blair would then be elected party leader by the Labour members of the House of Commons and his name would be presented to the queen in the usual way. Is that it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-blair-had-lost-his-constituency/302666.md?page=2)