“Power resides where men believe it resides.” — Lord Varys in Game of Thrones.

In November, 2023 then-Premier of the Cayman Islands Wayne Panton faced a motion of no confidence. After a deadlock vote of 9-9, he graciously agreed to step down and became Speaker of the House. In March, 2025 in the British Virgin Islands, several members of the Opposition crossed the floor, causing Ronnie Skelton to be removed as Opposition Leader. In early February, 2026 in Bermuda, Robert King was also removed as Opposition Leader and Party Leader of the One Bermuda Alliance.

It is predicted that Sir Keir Starmer may very well be soon removed or forced to resign as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Whilst the circumstances of their removals will differ, there are a few commonalities.

Legislation

Sir Keir Starmer has had to make multiple U-turns on proposed legislation and policies due to a majority of the backbench not being in favour of the proposals. Some prime examples are the plan to cut benefits for those with disabilities, Inheritance tax on farmers, and winter fuel payment cuts for seniors.

For a labour party, the above proposals were as right wing as it gets and would have caused suffering for those who could least likely afford cuts to their assistance. The Labour MPs would have rightly been under pressure by their constituents to not support those bills. In turn, they would have collectively given both the PM and his Cabinet fair warning that they would vote against those bills.

Cabinet ministers need to remember that any proposed legislation, especially contentious bills, can only be passed if the majority of the backbench supports them.

Leadership

No leader can exist on their own. All political leadership is literally dependent on the continued support not just of a Cabinet but the majority of the backbench. As seen in the UK over the last 5 years, leaders from both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party have faced revolts from the back benches that trigger internal party mechanisms that allow for leaders to be replaced. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are some of the best examples.

In any functioning democracy, most, if not all political parties have in their written constitution the provisions for electing leaders and removing leaders. Generally, if party Caucus members feel that their present leader will cost them the next election, they will replace them.

As evidenced above, the real power of either government or opposition party is not the person who is the leader. It is the backbench/caucus that ultimately has the final say on both legislation and leadership.

“Power resides where men believe it resides.”

∙ Christopher Famous is a government backbencher and the MP for Devonshire East