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muriel_volestrangler

(105,817 posts)

8. The BBC political correspondent was explaining it's harder for Labour to bin a leader than the Tories

Thu Feb 5, 2026, 11:59 AM

Yesterday

The Tories' rules allow backbench MPs to put in private letters of no confidence in the leader, and when a certain threshold is reached, there's a secret ballot of all the MPs, and if the leader loses that, challengers can come forward. That allows a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the leader to build and make itself known.

In Labour, however, the first stage is the challenge has to be in public. That means the challenger is risking a lot more, rather than being able to waffle "well, I was loyal to the leader, but it became clear they didn't have the confidence of the party, so to be public-spirited, I offer myself as an alternative, yadda-yadda ...".

Both May and Johnson survived their party no confidence votes:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46547246
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61709441

though May resigned 6 months later, and Johnson just a month after his party vote.

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malaise

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Will Keir Starmer be gone by Friday 13th? [View all] malaise Yesterday OP

I'm barely dimly aware of the British Parliament's traditions and methods bucolic_frolic Yesterday #1

It's superior, in my view (I'm Canadian) to the cumbersome US system. Swede Yesterday #2

Thanks, so theirs is more nuanced and situational, ours is more mechanical. bucolic_frolic Yesterday #3

They feared a monarchy and kinda created one with the office of the President. Swede Yesterday #4

Evolved really since about the 14th century, and you could say that it stepped forward with the women's OnDoutside Yesterday #6

As an American, I agree 100%. I remember Eugene McCarthy said a bronxiteforever Yesterday #5

Also, parliamentary systems allow for the formation of multi-party coalitions Ocelot II Yesterday #7

The BBC political correspondent was explaining it's harder for Labour to bin a leader than the Tories muriel_volestrangler Yesterday #8