Is it possible for a party leader to lose his own constituency in a general election?

Or is the leader's constituency acclaimed for the leader?|||Yes, there's nothing special about a party leader's constituency. The Canadian political system is very similar to the British one, and the Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, lost her seat in Vancouver in the 1993 general election (as indeed did most members of her party - the Progressive Conservatives lost 149 of the 151 seats they had before the election).|||It is perfectly possible, and has happened at least once that I know of. In the 1924 general election, the leader of the Liberal Party, H H Asquith, lost his seat.





UK general elections are still conducted in a way that completely ignores political parties - after all, we were having them before parties were even invented. So there is nothing special about a leader's seat. The fact that party names appear on ballot papers is merely because each candidate is allowed six words to describe themselves on the ballot paper. In theory, you're simply electing your MP. The fact that you choose them because they belong to a particular party is neither here nor there. And as we know, anyone at all can stand provided they are old enough, are a British or Commonwealth citizen, can afford the deposit, and get enough names on their nomination form.





What has never happened is that the leader of the winning party lost his seat. Now that could get interesting - who would the Queen appoint as Prime Minister? In the case of a Conservative win, they can hold a leadership election quite quickly as only their MPs get a vote. But in the case of a Labour win, it can take months as we saw earlier this year when Ed Miliband was elected leader - their MPs, the local constituency Labour parties, and the unions all get a vote. And as they do it by Alternative Vote, they can get a leader who most of the MPs (who, after all, is who the leader has to work with from day to day) didn't actually vote for - like Ed Miliband!





Which makes me think of another thing - this is off the point but it's fascinating - there is absolutely nothing in British law that says there has to be a Prime Minister. It is merely a Royal appointment, with the convention that the Queen always appoints whoever is most likely to lead a stable government. Which obviously means the leader of the biggest party, or if it gets as far as forming a coalition, whoever the coalition wants. It's not even necessary for the PM to be an MP - it's just that "the system doesn't work" if he/she isn't. The same goes for other Ministers, which is why Ministers don't stop being Ministers when Parliament is dissolved for an election and there are no longer any MPs, and why Gordon Brown was still Prime Minister right up to the moment that the coalition had worked its agreement out and he actually resigned - not that he needed to do that, he would have automatically lost the job as soon as the Queen gave it to David Cameron.





So... what if a government party was re-elected but their leader lost his seat? He would still be Prime Minister right up to the point that the Queen appointed someone else, even though he isn't in Parliament.





Harold Wilson made use of this in the 1960s. He wanted Patrick Gordon Walker to be his Foreign Secretary, but Gordon Walker lost his seat. He appointed Gordon Walker anyway, but it just didn't "work" that he wasn't in Parliament. So Wilson found an MP willing to resign and be made a Lord, thus causing a by-election. The by-election duly happened with Gordon Walker as the Labour candidate, but the voters saw what Wilson was doing, didn't like the way they were being "used" and elected someone else. Wilson was left with no choice but to appoint another Foreign Secretary - but it did mean that we had a Foreign Secretary for about 3 months who wasn't in Parliament.|||It is perfectly possible, and has happened at least once that I know of. In the 1924 general election, the leader of the Liberal Party, H H Asquith, lost his seat.|||Yes however they always choose safe seats for themselves. Traditionally the seat of other candidates remain unopposed such as the speakers.|||Yes. As long as there are alternative candidates, it's perfectly possible.|||it is possible - however very unlikely - they get given the very safe seats that thy are certain to win|||Well that's wishful thinking! I suppose you imagining someone like Cameron or Clegg yes they can loose their seat and they would have to give up their leadership. We just have to live in hope.