Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office Propriety and Constitution Group has written guidance on whether an incumbent Prime Minister who loses his House of Commons seat at a general election remains Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is the head of the Government and holds that position by virtue of his or her ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, which in turn commands the confidence of the electorate, as expressed through a general election.

As set out in the Cabinet Manual, by modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the House of Commons. It is not possible, or desirable, to set out how these conventions operate in practice in every scenario.