Prime Minister

This chapter looks at the ways in which a politician becomes Prime Minister after a General Election. The voting system is briefly analysed because it is through its operation that a Prime Minister has the constitutional right to hold office—but by a method that is flawed. The significance of party manifestos is examined. While an election that gives one party a majority in the Commons is a simple concept, hung Parliaments have caused constitutional and political problems in the past. Such results in 1910, 1923, 1929, and 1974 are explained. The formation of the Coalition Government in 2010 is analysed, and the effect of methods codified in The Cabinet Manual on the consequences of the 2017 hung Parliament is assessed in detail. The obligations of a sitting Prime Minister when a hung Parliament is returned are explored.