[bots]

I'm stretching my memory here, but I think at one point the SNP leader didn't have a seat at Westminster, but was still leader of the party. They had what they called their parliamentary leader and then their "proper" leader.

Although Ed and David are currently MP's there is no guarantee that they will be after the next election. If they lost their seats, they would still be leader of their parties until the democratic process for changing leader had been held. With labour, that could be a loooooooong time. In the meantime someone would have to stand in as the leader in parliament.

Nothing undemocratic, just part and parcel of the process. Its not like America where you are voting for a president. We vote for an MP that represents a political party.