People across the United Kingdom are waiting to see will be the country's next prime minister – but the overwhelming majority of the population will not have a choice on who it will be.

Conservative MPs Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are the last individuals standing in a race to become the next leader of the party and succeed current prime minister Theresa May. There will be no general election as May called a snap election in 2017, one in which the Conservatives lost parliamentary seats.

The UK is now is in a situation where an estimated 160,000 rank and file members of the Conservative Party will choose who becomes prime minister of a government that does not hold a majority of seats in parliament and which is tumbling in opinion polls.

No matter who wins, critics say the lack of power that the general public has in choosing the next prime minister is a major brake on democracy. All the while, the October 31 deadline for the UK to leave the European Union – deal or no-deal – looms ever nearer.

We'll take a look at the two men battling for the top seat in UK government and consider what an unprecedented democratic deficit means for the country as it considers its future role in Europe. Join the conversation.

(Click here for Android APP of IBTN. You can follow us on facebook and Twitter)

Share This News

About sharing