The ‘Selectorate’ Picking Britain’s Next Prime Minister
The race to succeed Theresa May as the leader of the Conservative Party—and, consequently, prime minister—means the U.K.’s political future is in the hands of less than 1 percent of its electorate.
Britain’s next prime minister will govern a country of 66 million, but the pool of citizens deciding who that individual will be is decidedly smaller: 165,000.
The reason for that is simple: When Theresa May resigned from office in May, citing her failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, she did so as the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party. As a result, the contest to replace her is about choosing the next leader of the Conservatives—a decision that ultimately falls to the party’s members. This “selectorate” represents of the broader U.K. electorate of 46 million. Their decision, however, will affect the entire population: As the leader of the ruling party, the winner will automatically succeed May as prime minister.
