Holding Party Leaders to Account: The Westminster Cases

Abstract

Political party leaders have long been recognized as central figures in Westminster parliamentary democracies. In the legislative arena they fill the leading roles of Prime Minister and Leader of the Official Opposition (Weller, 1985). Parties hold a privileged place in parliamentary elections and their leaders are the central figures in these campaigns (McAllister, 1996). Similarly, leaders exercise considerable control over important intra party decision-making (Heidar and Koole, 2000). While leaders have always played a central role in modern parliamentary democracies, observers have identified an increase in their authority in all three realms – legislative, electoral and intra party (Poguntke and Webb, 2005).