EXPLAINER: Why the British public don't choose their leader

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Observers of Britain's government structure can be forgiven for scratching their heads in recent weeks as they watch the country go through a succession of prime ministers without holding an election. While the opposition Labor Party is pushing for an election, the ruling Conservatives are scrambling to choose another prime minister from their own ranks, which they are entitled to do because of the way British parliamentary democracy works. /p>

BRITISH NEVER ACTUALLY VOTE FOR THEIR PRIME MINISTER

Britain is divided into 650 local constituencies, and people tick a box for which representative they want to be their MP or local MP. In most cases, this will be a member of one of the major political parties in the country.

The party that wins the majority of seats forms a government, and the leader of that party automatically becomes prime minister. Although coalitions are possible, the British electoral system favors the two largest parties and in most cases only one party will win an absolute majority of seats, as is the case for the Conservatives in the current Parliament.

HOW DO PARTIES CHOOSE THEIR LEADERS?

Since 1922, Britain's 20 prime ministers have come from either the Labor or Conservative parties. This means that the members of these parties have an outsized influence on who will be the Prime Minister of the country. The processes parties use to choose them can seem byzantine.

Take a deep breath: For the Conservative Party, their lawmakers must first signal their support for a potential leader. If there is enough support, that person will become an official candidate. All Tory MPs then proceeded to a series of votes, gradually reducing the number of candidates to two. Finally, the ordinary members of the party - about 180,000 of them - vote between these two candidates. Last time they chose Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak.

If MPs are able to unite behind a single candidate, there is no need for wider party members to vote . The latter happened in 2016 when lawmakers backed Theresa May after David Cameron resigned and she automatically became prime minister. It could happen again.

Labour has its own process which is arguably even more complicated.

BUT DIDN'T BRITAIN VOTE FOR BORIS JOHNSON IN 2019?

Johnson was chosen by his party following the resignation of Theresa May. He had already been prime minister for five months when voters checked...