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My article on "Why party leaders should not pick the prime minister" is a "must read", according to the @NewStatesman "Morning Briefing". Online here: newstatesman.com/politics/uk/20… 
Changing prime minister in the middle of a Parliament is entirely normal. What's new is letting unelected party activists make the choice. And it's exerting a wildly undemocratic pressure on public policy.
The combined membership of our major parties makes up roughly 2 per cent of the electorate; yet it exerts a gravitational pull that is grotesquely disproportionate to its numbers. That is distorting the whole character of our democracy & leaves it uniquely vulnerable to capture.
Allowing party members to choose the prime minister breaks a fundamental principle of democracy: that all citizens have an equal voice in how we are governed. " Our parties should not be selling special democratic privileges in exchange for a financial payment".
It's also a recipe for gridlock, as it separates the "mandate" to lead from the ability to pass legislation.
Ultimately, we need to decide what kind of democracy we want to be.
Full article available here: newstatesman.com/politics/uk/20…
