Labour Party (UK) Leadership Election, 2010 Discussion Thread

[Verily]

Considering the fact that the election of a Labour leader involves party members receiving and then mailing in ballots, how exactly does the Labour party expect to choose a leader quickly enough to still form a Lab-Lib coalition?

Someone running unopposed....possibly.

I doubt that.

They don't need a coalition decision until August, though, considering an election can't be forced until September at the earliest. I suppose Brown could be allowed to carry on as a caretaker PM in the interim.

[Verily]

Surely the Milibands wouldn't run against each other?

Looks like it's happening. It's coming across to me that David certainly thinks so anyway.

They are of different factions. Vaguely, David is a Blairite, while Ed is a Brownite.

[Verily]

David Miliband would be favoured over Ed Miliband in a leadership contest.

In a 1-on-1, definitely. With Cruddas and others running around, it's not at all clear who is favored.

[Verily]

Has a Prime Minister ever lost their seat?

Not while Prime Minister. However, Ramsay McDonald was defeated (by an official Labour candidate, himself running as National Labour) in the 1935 election, a few months after resigning as Prime Minister, and Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home all lost reelection at some point prior to becoming Prime Minister. (Churchill lost reelection as a National Liberal in 1922, before he defected to the Conservatives; Macmillan and Douglas-Home both lost in 1945.)

Many Prime Ministers failed to win election to the Commons in seats where they were not incumbents prior to becoming PM.

[Verily]

Just something that occurred to me--does Labour have any fail-safe mechanism for choosing a leader if they have fewer than 33 MPs? Obviously highly unlikely to happen any time soon, but a curious possibility...