Ketaki Zodgekar
Former Research Assistant
All work
How big is the Labour government’s majority?
There are 650 seats in parliament. At the general election, the government won 411 of them.
Special advisers
Special advisers (spads) are political appointees hired to support ministers.
Payroll vote
The 'payroll vote' is the body of MPs who hold offices that require them to support the government.
Direct ministerial appointments to the House of Lords
If the prime minister wants to appoint a minister who is not a sitting MP or serving peer, they must ennoble them.
How do Labour Party leadership contests work?
A Labour leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if 20% of MPs nominate a challenger.
What happens if a prime minister loses their seat in a general election?
At every general election there is a possibility that a party's leader would not be returned to parliament.
Collective responsibility
Collective responsibility is the convention whereby individual members of the government are accountable for the actions and decisions of government.
Party conferences
Every autumn, UK political parties hold their annual conferences – gatherings of politicians, party members and affiliated groups.
Conservative Party leadership contests
The last Conservative Party leadership contest was between July and November 2024, when Kemi Badenoch became new leader of the Conservative Party.
Special advisers and the Johnson government
How Boris Johnson's changes to the role of special advisers disempowered ministers and undermined the quality of decision making in government.