Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Bonar Law's Parliamentary Private Secretary, J.C.C. Davidson acted in effect as his Chief of Staff. Margaret Thatcher's downfall from the Conservative Party leadership in 1990 is attributed by many to the actions of her Parliamentary Private Secretary, Peter Morrison, in failing accurately to count votes amongst Conservative backbenchers. Some Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister go on to hold higher office; Lord Dunglass served as Parliamentary Private Secretary under Neville Chamberlain and later went on to serve as Prime Minister in his own right. There can be multiple Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister at a given time.
Prime minister-designate the largest party, in which case (s)he becomes prime minister-designate same as if his/her party had a majority. On the other hand, if a prime minister in such a situation chooses not to resign, the leader of the largest opposition party will not become the prime minister-designate even if his/her party has the most seats. In the latter case, the prime minister must win a vote of confidence to remain in office. If (s)he is immediately defeated in the house, the head of state in most Westminster systems is often expected to refuse a request to dissolve the house. The