Will Theresa May stay on as an MP after resigning as prime minister?

Politics Explained: Some former prime ministers disappear from parliament immediately, but others hang on for decades

May stepped down as Tory leader on Friday and will serve as caretaker PM until her successor is chosen (AP)

After being removed from No 10 in 1974 by a Labour general election victory, and toppled as leader of the Conservative Party the following year, Edward Heath famously stuck around as a backbencher.

He eventually became father of the House of Commons – a title bestowed on the longest continuously-serving member – until resigning as an MP 27 years later, in 2001.

Other former prime ministers, such as David Cameron and Tony Blair, opted for a quicker exit from frontline politics.