How Do Labour Elect A New Leader? Here's what happens if Keir Starmer quits - and how he could be forced out
Is Keir Starmer’s time as Prime Minister coming to an end?
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has piled further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer by calling for him to step down.
It’s the latest bad news story for the Prime Minister a mere 18 months after a spectacular election landslide triumph.
The intervening period has seen a succession of bad news stories for the Premier, along with cabinet scandals and embarrassing u-turns - including on an income tax rise at the last budget.
And there is now something approaching open rebellion among Labour MPs following the scandal linking former British Ambassador to the United States Lord Mandelson to financier sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
So, how would Sir Keir’s successor be chosen and what happens if he refuses to step aside?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What happens when a Labour Prime Minister resigns?
If the position of Labour Prime Minister becomes vacant for any reason, including a resignation, then the Cabinet consults with the National Executive Committee (NEC) appoints an interim leder until a leadership ballot is organised.
How are the candidates chosen for a Labour leadership election?
In order to run for Labour leader a candidate must already be an MP (meaning Andy Burnham, for example, would not be eligible).
Candidates must be nominated by 20 per cent of fellow Labour MPs. There are currently 405 Labour MPs so a candidate would need the support of 81 MPs.
They must also win the support of five per cent of constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), or at least three affiliates of the Labour Party (groups or organisations that have “interests consistent with those of the Labour Party”). At least two of these must be trade unions.
At the 2020 leadership election candidates first gained support of the requisite number of MPs before securing nominations from CLPs and affiliates.
Candidates must confirm in writing that they accept the nomination to party general secretary Hollie Ridley two weeks before the ballot is held.
How does a Labour leadership ballot work?
Only those who have been Labour Party members for more than six months are eligible to vote in the contest.
Each eligible member votes for the new leader using a preferential voting system - meaning that they vote for them in order of preference, with the number ‘1’ being used for their preferred choice, followed by ‘2’ for their second, all the way down to their least favoured candidate.
The winner is the first to reach over 50 per cent of the vote, with the bottom candidate dropping out at the end of each round and their votes transferred to the second preferred candidate. If a candidate wins more than 50 per cent top preferences in the first vote then the contest is finished.
What happens if Sir Keir Starmer refuses to step aside?
If a Labour Prime Minister refuses to step aside a leadship contest can still be triggered, although it would be unprecedented.
Only three sitting Labour Party leaders have ever been challenged - Hugh Gaitskell in 1960 and 1961, Neil Kinnock in 1988 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2016 - but no sitting Labour Prime Minister has ever faced a leadership challenge.
The challenge would be triggered by a candidate getting the same level of support as if the Prime Minister stepped aside. Crucially though, the Prime Minister would automatically enter the ballot without having to gain any support from either MPs, CLPs or affiliates.
The ballot would then take place as described above.
How long would a Labour leadership election take?
It’s a fairly long process. In 2020 the nominations opened on January 7, the ballot started on February 24 and Sir Keir Starmer was announced the winner on April 4. So, in total, it took roughly three months.
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