how long is the term of a british prime minister?

Question

are they like the supreme court with life terms or do they get voted out?

Answer 1

Here's how it works in countries with a Parliamentary system, such as Britain, Canada, Australia, et al.: Each party in the House of Commons elects a Leader. When a general election occurs, the Leader of the party that wins the most seats becomes (or stays) Prime Minister. If no party reaches a majority, then the Leader of the leading party will have to form a coalition (a.k.a. a "minority government"). The mandate is for five years. The PM may call an election sooner than five years in, but at the end of that time, the government is automatically dissolved and a new election is called. If a coalition collapses, or if enough members of the PM's party vote with the Opposition in a "vote of no confidence," then the PM must go to the monarch (or the monarch's representative), and say, "I cannot form a government." Then an election will be called. Then the winning party's Leader goes to the monarch (or the monarch's representative) and says, "I can form a government," and gets a new mandate of up to five years.

I think the current British mandate runs through April 2010, although Tony Blair has said he will step down sometime in 2007. The next PM, probably Gordon Brown, will not have to call an election simply because he's new, unless enough Labourites decide to join with the Conservatives to vote "no confidence." He will have nearly three years before he leads his party to face the voters. In Canada, Stephen Harper has a mandate that runs through February 2011, but he's got a minority government, and the conventional wisdom says he may end up having to call an election this year.

Answer 2

An election has to be held every 5 years, but the prime minister can choose a date at any time during those 5 years.

Unlike the american system where a president can only run for two terms, the british prime minister can run for as many terms as he wishes, usually until he gets voted out, or until there is pressure for him to resign (such as Tony Blair currently, who has said he will resign before the next election). This is, to me, a flaw in our system (amount many!) where it means that theorectically, a prime minister could run the coutry for years and years!

Answer 3

As far as I can tell, there is no set number of years for a Prime Minister's term, although Wikipedia indicates that the de facto maximum is 5 years, or the maximum number of years before the required dissolution of Parliament by the Sovereign, and a subsequent election. Usually, dissolution occurs at the request of the Prime Minister to the Sovereign.

Prime Ministers are required to resign if his/her party loses the majority in an election, but the Sovereign is not compelled to accept his/her resignation. The Prime Minister, naturally, will attempt to have Parliament dissolved when it is most advantageous to his party in order to maximize his electoral fortunes, although, if it comes down to it, the Parliament itself can, in effect, force the act of dissolution by doing one of three things: issuing a vote of No-Confidence in the PM, rejecting a vote of Confidence, or otherwise gumming up the budgetary process of the government as a sort of ultimatum to the Sovereign to dissolve the body and have an election to determine the Prime Minister's fate. This has happened only three times in history.

So, in sum, there must be a Parliamentary election at least once every five years (usually sooner), and, as a result of that election, the fate of the Prime Minister's party determines the fate of the Prime Minister, if he is popular enough within his own party to retain his position. Tony Blair has been elected to three terms thus far, but, given the current political climate, he will resign before the next dissolution.

Answer 4

"of a british prime minister"

5 words, 8 syllables, 23 letters, 27 keystrokes.