Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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- This is a descriptive article. For a list, see List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.
| Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
| Style | The Right Honourable |
|---|---|
| Residence | 10 Downing St London, UK |
| Appointer | Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as sovereign |
| Term length | General Elections are held every five years at a minimum, but may be held sooner. The Prime Minister is by convention the leader of the victorious party. No term limits are imposed on the office. |
| Inaugural holder | Sir Robert Walpole (generally regarded as the first incumbent) |
| Formation | 4 April 1721 |
| Website | http://www.number10.gov.uk/ |
| United Kingdom |
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of His/Her Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament (of which they are members), to their political party, and ultimately the electorate.
The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. The position of Prime Minister is the result of political evolution, rather than legislation. Modern Prime Ministers have few statutory powers but, provided they can command the support of their parliamentary party, they can control both the legislature (the House of Commons) and the executive (the Cabinet) and hence wield considerable de facto powers.
The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is Gordon Brown.
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[edit] Constitutional background
The modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom wields broad executive and legislative powers. The incumbent leads a major political party, commands a majority in the House of Commons (the Legislature), and is the leader of the Cabinet (the Executive). Under the British system, there is a unity of powers rather than separation as in other democracies. [1] Called "royal prerogatives", many of these powers are still formally vested in the Head of State, the Sovereign. In practice, they were devolved to the Prime Minister as incumbents gradually acquired, after 1688, a dominant position in the constitutional hierarchy vis-à-vis the Sovereign, the Houses of Commons and Lords in Parliament, and the Cabinet.
The Premiership was not intentionally created like the American Presidency and other democratic heads of government. The office is not defined by a codified Constitution, but by unwritten customs known as conventions that evolved as Sovereigns, Parliament, Prime Ministers and the Cabinet reacted to events and resolved issues as they arose.[2]
Until the 20th century, the relationship between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament, and Cabinet was - and to a large extent still is - defined by conventions. The Premiership is a convention because it developed in the shadow of the Monarchy, competing with it for executive authority. Before the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Sovereign had been both Head of State and Government. Afterwards, Parliament allowed the Sovereign to remain Head of State, but gradually placed day-to-day governance under its control. It did not, however, create a formal mechanism by which to wield these executive powers.
The position of Prime Minister filled this void. Evolving quietly behind the scenes, Parliament transferred executive powers first to the Cabinet and then to the legal office of First Lord of the Treasury, who became known unofficially as the Prime Minister. During the same period, Parliament deferentially maintained the legal fiction that the Sovereign retained the power to govern directly, giving little formal recognition to the position of Prime Minister.[3]
This arrangement makes it appear that Britain has two executives: the Prime Minister and the Sovereign. The concept of "the Crown" resolves this paradox.[4] The Crown symbolizes the state’s authority to govern: to make laws and execute them, impose taxes and collect them, sign treaties, declare war and make peace. After 1688, Parliament gradually made Sovereigns give up these powers and forced them assume a neutral political position. They placed the Crown in "commission", entrusting its authority to responsible Ministers (the Prime Minister and Cabinet), accountable for their policies and actions to Parliament and the people. Although the Sovereign's prerogatives were still intact, Parliament removed the Sovereign from everyday governance, leaving it in practice with three constitutional rights: to be kept informed, to advise, and to warn.[5][6]
[edit] Foundations of the office of Prime Minister: 1688–1720
[edit] Revolutionary settlement
Since the position of Prime Minister evolved, there is no exact date when the process began. A meaningful starting point, however, is 1688 when James II fled England. The throne being vacant, the Parliament of England confirmed William and Mary as England's joint constitutional monarchs, enacting legislation that limited their authority and that of their successors: the Bill of Rights (1689), the Mutiny Bill (1689), the Triennial Bill (1694), the Treason Act (1696) and the Act of Settlement (1701).[7] Known collectively as the Revolutionary Settlement, these acts transformed the constitution, shifting the balance of power from the Sovereign to Parliament. Unknown at the time, they also provided the basis for the evolution of the Prime Minister.
[edit] The Treasury Bench
The Revolutionary Settlement gave the Commons new financial powers and control over legislation and, thereby, changed the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature. Meeting every year (rather than irregularly at the Sovereign’s summons as in centuries past), Parliament became a permanent feature of political life. Holding the “power of the purse”, it controlled finances. The Monarchy could no longer live on its own income. For want of money, Sovereigns had to summon Parliament annually and could no longer dissolve or prorogue it without its advice and consent.[8] The veto prerogative fell into disuse because Sovereigns feared that if they denied legislation, Parliament would deny them money. No Sovereign has denied royal assent since Queen Anne vetoed the Scottish Militia Bill in 1708.[9]
Treasury officials were drawn into Parliament, serving as liaisons between the Sovereign and Parliament. Sovereigns now had to consider them not only as department heads but also as members of Parliament and politicians. In this new capacity, Ministers had to present and defend the government's policies, and negotiate with Members to gain the support of the majority; they had to explain the government’s financial needs, suggest ways of meeting them and give an account of how money had been spent, particularly in the House of Commons since it held the purse strings. The Sovereign’s representatives became so important and attended Commons sessions so regularly that they were given reserved seats at the front, known as the Treasury Bench. This is the beginning of "unity of powers": the Sovereign's Ministers (the Executive) became leading members of Parliament (the Legislature). Today, the Prime Minister (First Lord of the Treasury), the Chancellor of the Exchequer (responsible for the budget) and other members of the Cabinet sit on the Treasury bench and present policies in much the same way Ministers did late in the 17th century.
[edit] Standing Order 66
After the Revolution, there was a constant threat that non-government members of Parliament would ruin the country's finances by proposing self-serving, ill-considered money bills. Vying for control over the budget to avoid chaos, the Crown's Ministers - those who sit on the Treasury Bench - gained an advantage in 1706 when the Commons informally declared, "That this House will receive no petition for any sum of money relating to public Service, but what is recommended from the Crown." Seven years later, on June 11, 1713, this non-binding rule became Standing Order 66: that “the Commons would not vote money for any purpose, except on a motion of a Minister of the Crown.” Standing Order 66 remains in effect today, essentially unchanged for three hundred years.[10]
Empowering government Ministers with sole financial initiative had a immediate and lasting impact. Apart from achieving its intended purpose - to stabilize the budgetary process - it naturally gave the Crown a leadership role in the Commons, and, just as naturally, the Lord Treasurer assumed a leading position among Ministers. The power of financial initiative was not, however, absolute. Only Ministers might initiate money bills, but Parliament now reviewed and consented to them. Standing Order 66 therefore represents the beginnings of Ministerial responsibility and accountability.[11]
Because of its leadership position in Parliament as well as the government, the term "Prime Minister" first appears at this time as an unofficial title for the Head of the Treasury. Jonathan Swift, for example, wrote in 1713 about "those who are now commonly called Prime Minister among us", referring to Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin and Robert Harley, Queen Anne's Lord Treasurers and chief ministers.[12] From this time, every head of the Sovereign's government - with one exception in the 18th century and one in the 19th - has been either Lord High Treasurer or, more commonly, First Lord of the Treasury.
[edit] Beginnings of the Prime Minister's party leadership
The modern Prime Minister is the leader of a major political party with millions of followers. In the general election of 1997, for example, 13.5 million people voted for the Labour Party led by Tony Blair; 9.6 million for the Conservative Party, led by John Major, the incumbent Prime Minister; and, 5.2 million for the Liberal Democrat Party led by Paddy Ashdown. Generally agreeing on policies, party leaders and their supporters at the polls suppress their differences of opinion for the sake of gaining a majority of seats in the Commons and being able to form a government.
The first political parties appeared a few years before the Revolutionary Settlement during the Exclusion Crisis of 1678–1681. The Whigs, who believed in limited Monarchy and in Parliament's right to legislate and control finances, wanted to exclude James Stuart from succeeding to the throne because he was a Catholic, and espoused absolutist ideas about the powers of Kingship. The Tories, who believed in the "Divine Right of Kings", defended James' hereditary claim. These parties would dominate British politics for over 150 years, the Whigs generally being more liberal; the Tories more conservative. Indeed, in the 19th century, the Whigs evolved into the Liberal Party; the Tories, the Conservative. Even today, Conservatives are often called "Tories".
Political parties were not as organized and disciplined in the 17th century as they would become in the 19th and 20th. They were more like factions with "members" drifting in and out, collaborating temporarily on specific issues when it was to their advantage, then disbanding when it was not. A major deterrent to the development of opposing parties was the idea that there could only be one: the “King’s Party”. To oppose the King’s party was disloyal, even treasonous. This idea lingered throughout the 18th century. Nevertheless, it became possible at the end of the 17th century to identify Parliaments and Ministries as being either "Whig" or "Tory" in composition.
[edit] The Nascent Cabinet
The modern Prime Minister is also the leader of the Cabinet. A convention of the constitution, the modern Cabinet is a group of about twenty to twenty-five ministers who formulate policies. For example, former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s first Cabinet from 1997 – 2001 consisted of 22 members; his second from 2001 - 2005 had 23. As the temporary political heads of government departments - such as foreign affairs and education - Cabinet Ministers ensure that policies are carried out by permanent civil servants. Although the modern Prime Minister selects Ministers, the Sovereign, by custom, still officially appoints them. With the Prime Minister as its leader, the Cabinet forms the "executive branch" in the British system. [13]
The term "Cabinet" first appears after the Revolutionary Settlement to describe those ministers who conferred privately with the Sovereign. The growth of the Cabinet as the executive council met with widespread complaint and opposition because its meetings were often held in secret, and it excluded the ancient, once powerful Privy Council from the Sovereign's circle of trusted advisers, reducing it to an honorary body. [14]
The nascent Cabinet included the Treasurer and other department heads who sat on the Treasury bench as it does today. However, it might also include, depending on the Sovereign's preferences, household officers (such as the Master of the Horse) and even members of the royal family.
Early in his reign, William (1688-1702) preferred "Mixed Ministries" choosing his ministers from both the Tory and Whig parties to get all points of view and dilute the power of each. This approach did not work well. His Cabinets had no recognized leader and Ministers tended to bicker with each other and work at odds in the execution of policies. This has been the case ever since. Mixed Ministries or Coalitions have rarely been effective under the British system, except in times of crisis like the Great War (1914–1918) and the Second World War (1939–1945).[15]
Mixed Ministries having failed, William formed a homogeneous Whig ministry in 1697 known as the Junto. Nominally led by Robert Spencer, (Earl of Sunderland) but in fact led by the King himself, the Junto is often cited as the first true Cabinet because its members were all Whigs, reflecting the composition of the Commons which was also Whig.[16]
Anne (1702-1714) followed this pattern but she preferred Tory Cabinets. This approach worked well as long as Parliament was also predominantly Tory. In 1702, the Tories dominated the Commons. However, in the elections of 1705, the Whigs made considerable gains, and then in 1708, they obtained a majority. Yet, Anne did not call on the Whigs to form a government; she refused to admit that a group of men could force themselves on her as Ministers merely because their party had a majority. [17] She never parted with an entire Ministry or accepted an entirely new one regardless of the results of an election. Consequently, although Anne's chief ministers Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin and Robert Harley led their respective Cabinets (and were called "Prime Minister" by some), they had difficulty executing policy in the face of a generally hostile Parliament.[18] It was not until the 1830s that political reality established the constitutional convention that the Sovereign must select Prime Ministers and the Cabinet from the party whose views reflect those of the majority in Parliament.[19]
Both William and Anne appointed and dismissed Cabinet members; they attended meetings, guided discussions, made decisions, and followed up on actions. Relieving the Sovereign of these responsibilities and gaining control over the Cabinet's composition was an essential part of evolution of the Premiership. [18] This process began after the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Although George I (1714–1727) attended regularly at first, after 1717 he withdrew, partly because he did not speak English, but mostly because he was bored with the discussions. George II (1727–1760) occasionally presided at Cabinet meetings. His grandson, George III (1760–1820), however, is known to have attended only two during his 60 year reign. Thus, again by the 1830s, the conventions were established that Sovereigns do not select Cabinet members or attend their meetings. The Prime Minister forms his government by selecting his Cabinet. He calls meetings, presides, takes notes, and reports decisions to the Sovereign. These simple executive tasks naturally gave the Prime Minister ascendancy over his Cabinet colleagues, and identified him as their leader. [20]
[edit] The Treasury Commission: 1714
The office of the modern Prime Minister is still largely a convention of the constitution; its legal authority is derived primarily from the fact that the Prime Minister is also First Lord of the Treasury. The connection of these two offices - one a convention, the other a legal office - began with the Hanoverian Succession in 1714.
When George I succeeded to the English throne in 1714, his German ministers advised him to leave the office of Lord High Treasurer vacant because those who had held it in recent years (referring to Godolphin and Harley) had grown overly powerful, in effect, replacing the Sovereign as head of the government. They also feared that a Lord High Treasurer would undermine their own influence with the new King. They therefore suggested that instead he place the office in "commission', meaning that a committee of five ministers would perform its functions together. Theoretically, this dilution of authority would prevent any one of them from presuming to be the head of the government. The King agreed and created the Treasury Commission consisting of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord, and three Junior Lords.
No one has been appointed to the Lord High Treasureship since 1714; it has remained in commission for three hundred years. The Treasury Commission ceased to meet late in the 18th century but has survived, albeit with very different functions: the First Lord of the Treasury is now the Prime Minister, the Second Lord is the Chancellor of the Exchequer (and actually in charge of the Treasury), and the Junior Lords are government Whips maintaining party discipline in the House of Commons; they no longer have any duties related to the Treasury. [21]
[edit] Early Prime Ministers: 1720–1784
[edit] The "first" Prime Minister - Walpole (1720–1742)
Since the office was not created at a constitutional convention but evolved slowly over centuries, there is no "First" Prime Minister as there is a first Prime Minister of Canada. However, the honorary appellation "First" Prime Minister is traditionally given to Sir Robert Walpole who became First Lord of the Treasury in 1721 and remained in office for 21 years.
In 1720, the South Sea Company, created to trade in cotton, agricultural goods and slaves, collapsed, causing the financial ruin of thousands of investors and heavy losses for many others including members of the royal family. King George I called on Robert Walpole, well-known for his political and financial acumen, to handle the emergency. With considerable skill and some luck, Walpole acted quickly to restore public credit and confidence, and lead the country out of the crisis. A year later, the King appointed him First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons making him the most powerful minister in the government. Ruthless, crude, and hard-working, he had a "sagacious business sense" and was a superb manager of men.[22] At the head of affairs for the next two decades, Walpole stabilized the nation's finances, kept it at peace, made it prosperous, and secured the Hanoverian Succession.[23]
Walpole demonstrated for the first time how a chief minister - a Prime Minister - could be the actual Head of the Government under the new constitutional framework. First, recognizing that the Sovereign could no longer govern directly, he nevertheless insisted that he was nothing more than the "King's Servant" and worked tirelessly to maintain the confidence of the Sovereign, sometimes resorting to bribery.[24] Second, recognizing that real power had shifted to the Commons, he conducted all of the nation's business there and made that chamber dominant over the Lords in all matters, not only finances. Third, recognizing that the Cabinet had become the executive and must speak with one voice, he dominated the other members and demanded their complete, united support for his policies. Fourth, recognizing that political parties were the source of ministerial strength, he led the Whig party and used every means - persuasion, threats, patronage, and bribery - to maintain discipline throughout the country, as well as the Commons, especially during elections. In the Commons, he insisted on the support of all Whigs members, especially those who held office. Finally, he set an example for future Prime Ministers by resigning his offices in 1742 when he no longer had the confidence of a majority, even though he still retained the confidence of the Sovereign.[25][26]
[edit] Ambivalence and denial: 1742–1784
For all his contributions to the position, Walpole was not a Prime Minister in the modern sense. The King chose him as his Prime Minister, not Parliament; and, the King chose the other Cabinet members, not Walpole. Walpole set an example not a precedent, and few actually followed his example. For over 40 years after Walpole's fall in 1742, there was widespread ambivalence about the position. In some cases, the Prime Minister was a figurehead with power being wielded by one or more other individuals. In others, there was a reversion to the "chief minister" model of earlier times in which the Sovereign actually governed.
This ambivalence was reflected in the reluctance to use the title. Although Walpole is now considered the "First" Prime Minister, the title was not commonly used during his tenure and for some time after. Indeed, it was often denied even by Walpole. In 1741, during the attack on Walpole that led to his downfall, Sandys declared that "According to our Constitution we can have no sole and prime minister . . . " In his own defense, Walpole said "I unequivocally deny that I am sole or Prime Minister and that to my influence and direction all the affairs of government must be attributed...." [27] George Grenville, Prime Minister in the 1760s, said it was "an odious title" and never used it. [28] Lord North, the reluctant head of the King's Government during the American Revolution, "would never suffer himself to be called Prime Minister, because it was an office unknown to the Constitution." [29] [30]
Even after 1784 when the position had been accepted as a convention of the constitution, denials of its legal existence continued. In 1806, one member of the Commons said, "the Constitution abhors the idea of a prime minister". In 1829 another said, "nothing could be more mischievous or unconstitutional than to recognize by act of parliament the existence of such an office."
Comments like these continued throughout the 19th century. By the 20th century, the Premiership had existed for almost two hundred years and was by convention the most important position in the government. Yet there were still no legal documents describing its the powers or even acknowledging its existence. Incumbents had no statutory authority in their own right. As late as 1904, Arthur Balfour explained the status of his office in a speech at Haddington: "The Prime Minister has no salary as Prime Minister. He has no statutory duties as Prime Minister, his name occurs in no Acts of Parliament, and though holding the most important place in the constitutional hierarchy, he has no place which is recognized by the laws of his country. This is a strange paradox" [31]
In 1905 the position was given official recognition when the "Prime Minister" was named in the order of precedence, outranked, among non-royals, only by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, The Moderator of the Church of Scotland and by the Lord Chancellor.
The first Act of Parliament to mention the position was the Chequers Estate Act on 20 December 1917. [32] This law conferred as a gift to the Crown of the Chequers Estate owned by Sir Arthur and Lady Lee, for use as a country home for future Prime Ministers.
Unequivical legal recognition was finally given in the Ministers of the Crown Act (1937) which made provision for paying a salary to the person who is both "the First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister". Explicitly recognizing two hundred years' of ambivalence, the act states that it intended To give statutory recognition to the existence of the position of Prime Minister, and to the historic link between the Premiership and the office of First Lord of the Treasury, by providing in respect to that position and office a salary of . . . The Act made a distinction between the "position" (Prime Minister) and the "office" (First Lord of the Treasury), emphasising the unique character of the former. Nevertheless, the brass plate on the entrance door of the Prime Minister's home, 10 Downing Street, still bears the title of "First Lord of the Treasury", as it has since the 18th century.
[edit] "First among equals": 1784–1911
[edit] Emergence of Cabinet Government - Pitt and Liverpool (1784–1830)
Despite the confusion and ambivalence in the 18th century, unofficial use of the title grew because there was a growing recognition of need for it. Accepted by Whigs for years, even Tories started to accepted it. Lord North, for example, who had said the office was "unknown to the constitution", reversed himself in 1783 when he said, "In this country some one man or some body of men like a Cabinet should govern the whole and direct every measure."[33][34] In 1803, William Pitt the Younger, also a Tory, suggested to a friend that "this person generally called the first minister" was an absolute necessity for a government to function, and expressed his belief that this person should be the minister in charge of the finances. [27]
The Tories' wholesale conversion to accepting the Premiership as a convention of the constitution started in 1784 after Pitt was confirmed as Prime Minister in a landslide election victory. For the next 17 years until 1801 (and again from 1804 to 1806), Pitt, the Tory, was Prime Minister in the same sense that Walpole, the Whig, had been earlier. Thus, the Tories, for practical political reasons, finally accepted the constitutional changes implied in the Revolutionary Settlement.
The Tories' conversion was reinforced after 1810. In that year, King George III, who had suffered periodically from mental instability (due to a blood disorder now known as porphyria), became permanently insane and spent the remaining 10 years of his life confined to Windsor Castle, unable to discharge his duties. The Prince Regent, also named George, was restricted from using the full powers of Kingship. The Regent became King George IV in 1820, but during his 10 year reign was indolent and frivolous. Consequently, for 20 years the British throne was virtually vacant and Tory Cabinets led by Tory Prime Ministers filled the void, governing virtually on their own.
The Tories were in power for 50 years, exception for a short Whig ministry from 1806 to 1807. For 15 years, from 1812 to 1827, Lord Liverpool was Prime Minister. Together, he and Pitt were Prime Minister for 34 years. Under their consistent able leadership, Cabinet government, based on the model Walpole created, became a permanent convention of the constitution.
[edit] The Loyal Opposition
The expression "His Majesty's Opposition" was coined during this period of Tory ascendancy. In 1826, John Cam Hobhouse, Lord Broughton, announced in the Commons that he opposed the report of a Bill. As a joke, he said, "It was said to be very hard on His Majesty's ministers to raise objections to this proposition. For my part, I think it is much more hard on His Majesty's Opposition to compel them to take this course."[35][36] The phrase caught on and has been applied ever since to the second largest party in the Commons. Sometimes translated as the "Loyal Opposition", it acknowledges the legitimate existence of the two party system, and aptly describes an important constitutional concept: opposing the King's government is not treason; reasonable men can oppose the government's policies and still be loyal to the nation, the Sovereign and constitutional monarchy.
Today, the leaders of "Her Majesty's Opposition" (the "Loyal Opposition") sit in the Commons on the front bench opposite the Treasury Bench, to the Speaker's left. They form a "Shadow Government", complete with a "Shadow Prime Minister" (or "Leader of the Opposition", the leader of the 2nd largest party), ready to assume office if the government of the day falls or loses the next election. Although accepted as a convention of the constitution for over 100 years, the position of Shadow Prime Minister (or Leader of the Opposition) was not given statutory recognition until the Ministers of the Crown Act of 1937. The current Shadow Prime Minister is David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party.
[edit] The Great Reform Bill and the premiership - Grey
British Prime Ministers have never been elected directly by the public. They have all become Prime Minister indirectly because firstly, they were members of either the Commons or Lords; secondly, they were the leader of a great political party; and, thirdly, they either inherited a majority in the Commons, or won more seats than the opposition in a general election.
Since 1722, most Prime Ministers have been members of the Commons; since 1902, all have had a seat there. [37] Like other members, they are elected initially to represent only a constituency. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, for example, represented Sedgefield in County Durham from 1983 – 2007. He became Prime Minister because he was elected Labour Party leader in 1994 and then led the party to victory in the 1997 general election, winning 418 seats compared to 165 for the Conservatives and gaining a majority in the House of Commons.
Neither the Sovereign nor the House of Lords had any meaningful influence over who was elected to the Commons in 1997 or in deciding whether or not Blair would become Prime Minister. Their detachment from the electoral process has been a convention of the constitution for almost 200 years.
Prior to the 19th century, however, they had significant influence, using to their advantage the fact that most citizens were disenfranchised and seats were allocated disproportionately. The system at that time was based on legislation passed in 1429 and virtually unchanged for 400 years.[38][39] In 1832, only 440,000 met the voter qualifications in a population of 17 million. While populations had increased in some constituencies and declined in others, their representation in the Commons remained the same. Some constituencies were over-represented; others under-represented; some large towns, like Liverpool, had no representation at all. The Crown and Lords, through patronage, corruption and bribery, personally “owned” many seats in the Commons, giving them enormous control over that chamber. About 30% of the seats were “pocket” or “rotten boroughs”; representatives from these boroughs “won” their elections through the influence of the Crown or a Lord.[40][41]
In 1830, Charles Grey, a life-long liberal Whig, became Prime Minister determined to reform the electoral system. For two years, he and his Cabinet (including four future Prime Ministers - Melbourne, Russell, Palmerston and Derby - and one former one, Goderich) fought resolutely to pass what has come to be known as the Great Reform Bill of 1832.[42][43]
The greatness of the Great Reform Bill lay less in substance than symbolism. Substantively, it only increase the franchise 65% to 717,000 with the middle class receiving most of the new votes. The representation of 56 rotten boroughs was eliminated completely and half the representation of 30 others; the freed up seats were distributed to boroughs created for previously disenfranchised areas. However, many rotten boroughs remained and the Bill did not transfer political power completely to the people; it still excluded millions of working class men and all women.[44][45]
Symbolically, however, the Bill exceeded all expectations and is now ranked with Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights as one of the most important pieces of legislation ever passed by Parliament. [46]
First, the Great Reform Bill eliminated the Sovereign from the election process and the choice of Prime Minister. Slowly evolving for 100 years, this convention was finally confirmed in 1834 when King William IV dismissed Melbourn as Premier, but then had to recall him when Robert Peel, the King's personal choice, could not form a working majority. Since then, no Sovereign has tried to impose a Prime Minister on Parliament against its will.
Second, the Bill reduced the power of the Lords by eliminating many of their pocket boroughs and creating new boroughs where they had no influence. Weakened, the Lords were unable to prevent the passage of more comprehensive electoral reforms in 1867, 1884, 1918 and finally, 1928, when universal equal suffrage was achieved.[47] Ultimately, this erosion of political power would lead to the Parliament Act of 1911 that marginalized their role in the legislative process. It also led to the 20th century convention that a Prime Minister cannot sit in the House of Lords; the last to do so was Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, from 1895 to 1902.[48]
Grey's character and bearing during the Reform Bill crisis changed the Premiership. Often called the first "modern Prime Minister", he set both an example and a precedent for his successors. He assumed clear leadership over the Cabinet; he became, as Bagehot said in 1867 of the Prime Minister's status, primas inter paris, "first among equals". Using his Whig victory in 1830 as a mandate for reform, Grey was unrelenting in the pursuit of this goal, using every Parliamentary devise to achieve it. And, although gracious and respectful toward the King, he made it clear that the Sovereign's constitutional duty was to acquiesce to the will of the people and Parliament.
The Loyal Opposition acquiesced in the decision too. There was some talk among disgruntled Tories that they would repeal the Bill once they regained a majority. But in 1834, Robert Peel, the new Conservative leader, put a stop to it when he proclaimed in his Tamworth Manifesto that the Bill was "a final and irrevocable settlement of a great constitutional question which no friend to the peace and welfare of this country would attempt to disturb".[49] Thus, Peel affirmed a convention of the constitution that promotes stability in the British system: the Parliament of the day must respect the settlement of constitutional issues made by previous Parliaments.
[edit] Populist Prime Ministers - Disraeli and Gladstone
The Premiership was a somewhat reclusive office prior to 1832. The incumbent worked regularly with his Cabinet and other government officials; he occasionally met with the Sovereign, and attended Parliament daily when it was in session during the spring and summer. He never went out on the stump to campaign, even during elections; while in office, he rarely spoke directly to ordinary voters about policies and issues.
After the passage of the Great Reform Bill, the nature of the position changed; Prime Ministers had to go out among the people. The Bill increased the electorate to 717,000. Subsequent legislation (and population growth) raised it to 2 million in 1867, 5.5 million in 1884 and 21.4 million in 1918. As the franchise increased, power shifted to the people and Prime Ministers assumed more responsibilities with respect to party leadership, organizing existing members and attracting new ones. The introduction of the penny press and photography in the 19th century, and then radio, motion pictures, television, and the internet in the 20th reinforced this change. It naturally fell on Prime Ministers to motivate and organize their followers, explain party policies, and deliver its “message”. Successful political leaders had to have a new set of skills: to give a good speech, present a favourable image, and interact with a crowd. They became the "voice", the “face” and the "image" of the party and ministry.
Robert Peel, often called the “model Prime Minister”,[50] was the first to recognize this new role. After the successful Conservative campaign of 1841, J. W. Croker pointed it out in a letter to Peel, "The elections are wonderful, and the curiosity is that all turns on the name of Sir Robert Peel. 'It's the first time that I remember in our history that the people have chosen the first Minister for the Sovereign. Mr. Pitt's case in '84 is the nearest analogy; but then the people only confirmed the Sovereign's choice; here every Conservative candidate professed himself in plain words to be Sir Robert Peel's man, and on that ground was elected."[51]
In the next generation, none understood the change better than Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Known affectionately by their nicknames “Dizzy” and the “Grand Old Man”, their colourful, sometimes bitter, personal and political rivalry over the issues of their time - Imperialism vs. Anti-Imperialism, expansion of the franchise, labour reform, and Irish Home Rule – spanned almost twenty years until Disraeli’s death in 1881.[52] Documented by the penny press, photographs and political cartoons, their rivalry linked specific personalities with the Premiership in the public mind and further enhanced its status.
Each created a different public image of himself and his party. Disraeli, who expanded the Empire to protect British interests abroad, cultivated the image of himself as an "Imperialist", making grand gestures such as conferring the title "Empress of India" on Queen Victoria in 1876. Gladstone, who saw little value in the Empire, proposed an anti-Imperialist philosophy (later called "Little England"), and cultivated the image of himself as a "man of the people" by cutting down great oak trees with an axe as a hobby.
Gladstone went beyond image by appealing directly to the people. In his Midlothian Campaign - so called because he stood as a candidate for that county - Gladstone spoke in fields, halls and railway stations to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of students, farmers, labourers and middle class workers. Although not the first leader to speak directly to voters - both he and Disraeli had done it before on special occasions - he was the first to canvas an entire constituency delivering his message to anyone who would listen. The speeches were publicised nationwide so that Gladstone's message became that of the party. Noting its significance, Lord Shaftsbury said, "It is a new thing and a very serious thing to see the Prime Minister on the stump." Disraeli and Victoria thought the tactic was unconstitutional. “Such conduct", the Queen said, "is unheard of and the only excuse is – that he is not quite sane.”[53]
Despite these objections, campaigning directly to the people soon became commonplace. Several 20th century Prime Ministers, such as David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, were famous for their oratorical skills. After the introduction of radio, motion pictures, television, and the internet, many used these new technologies to project their public image and, for the first time, to address the nation as a whole. Stanley Baldwin, a master of the radio broadcast in the 1920s and 1930s, reached a vast audience with his neighbourly talks filled with homely advise and simple expressions of national pride. [54] Churchill also used the radio to great effect, inspiring, reassuring and informing the people with his speeches during the Second World War. Two recent Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, achieved celebrity status, like rock stars. "The props in Blair's theatre of celebrity," according to Anthony King, "included . . . his guitar, his casual clothes . . . footballs bounced skillfully off the top of his head . . . and carefully choreographed speeches-cum-performances at Labour Party conferences."[55]
[edit] The modern premiership: 1911 to the present
[edit] The Parliament Act and the premiership: 1911
In addition to being the leader of a great political party and the head of Her Majesty’s Government, the modern Prime Minister is the leader of the House of Commons and in effect Parliament. From this commanding position, the Prime Minister directs the law-making process, enacting into law his party’s program. For example, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose Labour party was elected in 1997 partly on a promise to enact a British Bill of Rights and to create devolved governments for Scotland and Wales, subsequently stewarded through Parliament the Human Rights Act (1998), the Scotland Act (1998) and the Government of Wales Act (1998).
From its first appearance in the 14th century, Parliament has been a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members of the Commons are elected; those in the Lords are not. Most Lords are called Temporal Lords with titles such as Duke, Marquess, Earl and Viscount. The balance is made up of Spiritual and Law Lords (prelates of the Anglican Church and judges). For most of the history of the Upper House (as it is sometimes called), Temporal Lords were great land owners who held their estates, titles and seats as an hereditary right passed down from one generation to the next in some cases for centuries. In 1910, for example, there were nineteen whose title was created before 1500. [56] [57] [58][59]
Until 1911, Prime Ministers had to guide legislation through both the Commons and the Lords and obtain a majority approval in both to translate it into law. This was not always easy because powerful political differences usually separated the chambers. Representing the landed aristocracy, the Temporal Lords were generally Tory (later Conservative); they wanted to maintain the status quo and resisted progressive measures particularly those that threatened their power (such as extending the franchise) or increased their taxes. The political affiliation of the members of the Commons was less predictable, but those who represented the middle and working classes or had progressive political ideas were usually Whig (later Liberal). During the 18th century, the makeup of the Commons varied because the Lords had considerable control over elections: sometimes Whigs dominated it, sometimes Tories. After the passage of the Great Reform Bill in 1832 by Grey's Whig government, the Commons gradually became more progressive, a tendency that increased with the passage of each subsequent expansion of the franchise.
In the election of 1906, the Liberal party, led by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, won an overwhelming victory on a platform that promised social reforms for the working class in education, unemployment compensation, pensions, and health. With a majority of 379 seats compared to the Conservatives' 132, the Liberals could confidently expect to pass their legislative program through the Commons. [60] [61] At the same time, however, the Conservative Party had a huge majority in the Lords; it could easily veto any legislation passed by the Commons that was against their political and financial interests.
Furthermore, Arthur Balfour, the defeated Conservative Prime Minister, declared that the House of Lords was the "watchdog of the constitution"; it had an obligation to promote stability by rejecting "radical" legislation proposed by "zealots" who may have a temporary numerical advantage in the Commons. David Lloyd George, the new Liberal President of the Board of Trade and a future Prime Minister, said the Lords ". . . is not the watchdog of the British Constitution. It is Mr Balfour's poodle!" [62]
Over the next five years, the Liberals in the Commons and the Conservatives in the Lords fought over one bill after another. The Liberals pushed through many parts of their program, but the Lords vetoed or severely modified many others. When the Lords vetoed the "People's Budget" in 1909, the controversy moved almost inevitably toward a constitutional crisis. [63]
In 1910, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith (Campbell-Bannerman retired and died in 1908) introduced a bill "for regulating the relations between the Houses of Parliament"; if passed into law, it would eliminate the Lords’ veto power over legislation. Passed by the Commons, the Lords rejected it. In a general election fought entirely on this issue, the Liberals were substantially weakened but with the support of the Labour Party and Irish Nationalists still had a comfortable majority. At Asquith’s request, King George V then threatened to create a sufficient number of new Liberal Peers to ensure the bill’s passage. Rather than accept a permanent Liberal majority, the Conservative Lords yielded, and the bill became law. [64]
The Parliament Act 1911 provided that the Lords could not delay for more than one month any bill certified by the Speaker of the Commons as a money bill. Furthermore, it provided that any bill rejected by the Lords would nevertheless become law if passed by the Commons in three successive sessions provided that two years had elapsed since its original passage. The Lords could still delay or suspend the enactment of legislation but could no longer veto it. [65] [66] Subsequently the Lords “suspending” power was reduced to one year by the Parliament Act of 1949.
After centuries of intermittent conflict between the two Houses, the Parliament Act of 1911 established the supremacy of the Commons. Indirectly, it also further enhanced the already dominant position of Prime Minister in the constitutional hierarchy. The Lords are still involved in the legislative process and the Prime Minister must still guide legislation through both Houses, but the Lords no longer have the power to veto or even obstruct the will of the people as expressed in the Commons. Provided that he controls the Cabinet, maintains party discipline, and commands a majority in the Commons, the Prime Minister is assured of putting through his legislative agenda.
[edit] "Presidential" premiership
The role and power of the Prime Minister have been subject to much change in the last fifty years. There has gradually been a change from Cabinet decision making and deliberation to the dominance of the Prime Minister. As early as 1965, in a new introduction to Walter Bagehot's classic work The English Constitution, Richard Crossman identified a new era of "Prime Ministerial" government. Some commentators, such as the political scientist Michael Foley, have argued there is a de facto "British Presidency". In Tony Blair's government, many sources such as former ministers have suggested that decision-making was centred around him and Gordon Brown, and the Cabinet was no longer used for decision making.[67] Former ministers such as Clare Short and Chris Smith have criticised the total lack of decision-making in Cabinet. On her resignation, Short denounced "the centralisation of power into the hands of the Prime Minister and an increasingly small number of advisers"[68] The Butler Review of 2004 condemned Blair's style of "sofa government".
At the opposite extreme, however, Prime Ministers may dominate the Cabinet so much that they become "Semi-Presidents." Examples of dominant Prime Ministers (more common during the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries) include William Ewart Gladstone, David Lloyd George, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Tony Blair. The powers of some Prime Ministers waxed or waned, depending upon their own level of energy, political skills or outside events: Ramsay MacDonald, for example, was dominant in his Labour governments, but during his National Government his powers diminished so that by his final years in Downing Street he was merely the figurehead of the government. In modern times, Prime Ministers have never been merely titular; dominant or somewhat dominant personalities are the norm.
Ultimately, however, the Prime Minister will be held responsible by the nation for the consequences of legislation or of general government policy. Margaret Thatcher's party forced her from power after the introduction of the poll tax; Sir Anthony Eden fell from power following the Suez Crisis; and Neville Chamberlain resigned after being criticised for his handling of negotiations with Germany prior to the outbreak of World War II, and for failing to prevent the fall of Norway to the Nazi onslaught.
The Prime Minister's powers are also limited by the House of Commons, whose support the Government is obliged to maintain. The House of Commons checks the powers of the Prime Minister through committee hearings and through Question Time, a weekly occurrence in which the Prime Minister is obliged to respond to the questions of the Leader of the Opposition and other members of the House. In practice, however, a Government with a strong majority need rarely fear "backbench rebellions."
[edit] Powers and constraints
The Prime Minister's chief duty is to "form a Government"—that is to say, to create a Cabinet or Ministry which will sustain the support of the House of Commons—when commissioned by the Sovereign. They generally co-ordinate the policies and activities of the Cabinet and the various Government departments, acting as the "face" of Her Majesty's Government. The Sovereign exercises much of their royal prerogative on the Prime Minister's advice. (For the prerogative of dissolving Parliament, see "Term" above.)
The Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces is the Sovereign. Under long-standing parliamentary custom and practice, however, the Prime Minister holds de facto decision-making power over the deployment and disposition of British forces, hence the Commander-in-Chief without portfolio. The Prime Minister can authorise, but not directly order, the use of Britain's nuclear weapons.
The Prime Minister also has a wide range of powers of appointment. In most cases, the actual appointments are made by the Sovereign, but the selection and recommendation is made by the Prime Minister. Ministers, Privy Counsellors, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, senior civil servants, senior military officers, members of important committees and commissions, and several other officials are selected, and in some cases may be removed, by the Prime Minister. Furthermore, peerages, knighthoods, and other honours are bestowed by the Sovereign only on the advice of the Prime Minister. He also formally advises the Sovereign on the appointment of Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England, but his discretion is limited by the existence of the Crown Nominations Commission. The appointment of senior judges, while on the advice of the Prime Minister for constitutional reasons, is now on the basis of recommendations from independent bodies. The only important British honours over which the Prime Minister does not have control are the Orders of the Garter, Thistle, and Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order, which are all within the "personal gift" of the Sovereign. The extent of the Sovereign's ability to influence the nature of the Prime Ministerial advice is unknown, but probably varies depending upon the personal relationship between the Sovereign and the Prime Minister of the day.
Members of Parliament may hold ministerial offices (up to 90 paid offices, of varying levels of seniority, exist), and may fear removal for failing to support the Prime Minister. Party discipline, furthermore, is very strong; a Member of Parliament may be expelled from their party for failing to support the Government on important issues, and although this will not mean they must resign as an MP, it would make re-election difficult for most. Restraints imposed by the House of Commons grow weaker when the Government's party enjoys a large majority in that House. In general, however, the Prime Minister and their colleagues may secure the House's support for almost any bill.
However, even a government with a healthy majority can on occasion find it is unable to pass legislation due to opposition from MPs. For example, on January 31, 2006 Tony Blair's Government was defeated over proposals to outlaw religious hatred, while on November 9, 2005 it was defeated over plans which would have allowed police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge. On other occasions, the Government may be forced to alter its proposals in order to avoid defeat in the Commons, as Tony Blair's Government did in February 2006 over education reforms.[69]
[edit] Precedence and privileges
The Prime Minister had no special precedence until the order of precedence first recognised the office in 1905. Throughout the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister outranks all others except the Royal Family, the Lord Chancellor, and senior ecclesiastical functionaries (in England and Wales, the Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York; in Scotland, the Lord High Commissioner and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; in Northern Ireland, the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church).
The Prime Minister draws their salary not as Prime Minister, but as First Lord of the Treasury. At present the office-holder receives £127,334 in addition to their salary of £60,277 as a Member of Parliament.[70] Until 2006 the Lord Chancellor was the highest paid member of the government ahead of the Prime Minister. This reflected the Lord Chancellor's position at the top of the judicial pay scale, as British judges are on the whole better paid than British politicians and until 2005 the Lord Chancellor was both politician and the head of the judiciary. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 stripped the Lord Chancellor of his judicial functions and his salary was reduced below the Prime Minister's.
The Prime Minister traditionally resides at 10 Downing Street in London, which George II offered to Sir Robert Walpole as a personal gift. Walpole, however, only accepted it as the official home of the First Lord, taking up his residence there in 1735. The Prime Minister only resides in 10 Downing Street in their capacity as First Lord; the few nineteenth century Prime Ministers who were not First Lords were forced to live elsewhere. Though most First Lords have lived in 10 Downing Street, some preferred to reside in their private residences. This happened when they were often aristocrats with grand Central London homes of their own, such as Palmerston's Cambridge House and seems unlikely to occur again. Furthermore, some such as Harold Macmillan and John Major have lived in Admiralty House whilst 10 Downing Street was undergoing renovations or repairs.
Adjacent to Downing Street is 11 Downing Street, the home of the Second Lord of the Treasury (who, in modern times, has also filled the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer). After he became Prime Minister in 1997, Tony Blair found 10 Downing Street too small for his large family, and he swapped residences with the Chancellor and Second Lord, Gordon Brown, then a bachelor. However, the Prime Ministerial offices are still maintained in Number 10. 12 Downing Street is the residence of the Chief Whip.
The Prime Minister is also entitled to use the country house of Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
The Prime Minister, like other Cabinet Ministers and senior Members of Parliament, is customarily a member of the Privy Council; thus, they become entitled to prefix "The Right Honourable" to their name. Membership of the Council is retained for life (unless the individual resigns it, or is expelled—both rare phenomena). It is a constitutional convention that only a Privy Counsellor can be appointed Prime Minister, but invariably all potential candidates have already attained this status. The only occasion when a non-Privy Councillor was the natural appointment was Ramsay MacDonald in 1924, but the issue was resolved by appointing him to the Council immediately prior to his appointment as Prime Minister.
[edit] Retirement honours
It is customary for the Sovereign to grant a Prime Minister some honour or dignity when that individual retires from politics. The honour commonly, but not invariably, bestowed on Prime Ministers is membership of the United Kingdom's most senior order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter. The practice of creating retired Prime Ministers Knights of the Garter has been fairly prevalent since the middle-nineteenth century. On the retirement of a Prime Minister who is Scottish, it is likely that the primarily Scottish honour of the Order of the Thistle will be used instead of the Order of the Garter, which is generally regarded as an English honour.
It has also been common for Prime Ministers to be granted peerages upon their retirement as a Member of Parliament, which elevates the individual to the House of Lords. For this reason, the peerage is rarely awarded immediately on the Prime Minister's resignation from that post, unless they step down as an MP at the same time. Formerly, the peerage bestowed was usually an earldom (which was always hereditary), with Churchill offered a dukedom. However, since the 1960s, hereditary peerages have generally been eschewed, and life peerages have been preferred, although in the 1980s Harold Macmillan was created Earl of Stockton on retirement. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher accepted life peerages. However, neither Edward Heath nor John Major accepted peerages of any kind on stepping down as MPs. Margaret Thatcher's son Mark is a baronet, which he inherited from his father Denis, but this is not a peerage.
Of the nineteen Prime Ministers since 1902, eight have been created both peers and Knights of the Garter; three were ennobled but not knighted; three became Knights of the Garter but not peers; and five were not granted either honour— in two cases due to their death while still active in politics; two others declined honours.
The retired Prime Ministers who are still living are:
[edit] Form of address
According to the now defunct Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Prime Minister is made a Privy Counsellor as a result of taking office and should be addressed by the official title prefixed by "The Right Honourable" and not by a personal name.
This form of address is employed at formal occasions but is rarely used by the media. Tony Blair, the previous Prime Minister, was frequently referred to in print as "Prime Minister Blair" (incorrect), "Mr Blair", "Tony Blair" or "Blair".[71] Colleagues sometimes referred to him simply as "Tony".[71] He was usually addressed as "Prime Minister".
Since 'Prime Minister' is a position, not a title, he/she should be referred to as "the Prime Minister" or (eg.) "Mr. Blair".
[edit] See also
- List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
- Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Historical rankings of British Prime Ministers
- Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister's Questions
- Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
- Spouses of the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
- Detailed timeline of UK Prime Ministers from Lord Palmerston to Gordon Brown
- Westminster System
- 10 Downing Street
[edit] Notes
- ^ Le May, 98–99. Walter Bagehot, an authority on 19th century British government, said this unity is "the efficient secret" of its constitution. Bagehot's description of the "efficient part" of the British constitution is quoted by Le May and many other standard texts: "The efficient secret of the English Constitution may be described as the close union, the nearly complete fu