- •Conservative Party
- •Origins in the Whig Party
- •John Major William Hague
- •Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard
- •The Conservative Party today
- •Current policies
- •Defence of the Union
- •Economic policy
- •Social policy
- •Foreign policy
- •Defence policy
- •Party factions One Nation Conservatives
- •Free-Market Conservatives
- •Traditionalist Conservatives
- •Minor parties in the United Kingdom
- •Electoral coalitions
- •Minor English parties
- •Minor Scottish parties
- •Minor Welsh parties
- •Minor Northern Ireland parties
- •Minor far-left parties
- •Minor far-right parties
- •Minor religious parties
- •Party ideology
- •Party constitution and structure
- •History
- •Labour Representation Committee
- •"New Labour" - in government (1997-2010)
- •Labour Prime Ministers Liberal Democrats
- •History
- •Campbell Clegg (2007–present) On 18 December 2007, Nick Clegg won the leadership election, becoming the party's fourth leader. Clegg won the leadership with a majority
- •Coalition government (2010)
- •Structure
- •Ideology and internal factions
- •Leaders
- •The political system of Great Britain
- •Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- •Authority
- •Position
- •Constitutional background
- •Revolutionary settlement
- •Treasury Bench
- •Standing Order 66
- •Beginnings of the Prime Minister's party leadership
- •Cabinet
- •"One Party Government"
- •Treasury Commission
- •"First" Prime Minister
- •Ambivalence and denial
- •[Edit] Emergence of Cabinet government
- •Loyal Opposition
- •Great Reform Bill and the Premiership
- •Populist Prime Ministers
- •Modern Premiership Parliament Act and the Premiership
- •[Edit] "Presidential" Premiership
- •[Edit] Powers and constraints
- •[Edit] Precedence, privileges and form of address
- •[Edit] Retirement honours
- •The English Judicial System
- •Scottish Government
- •[Edit] Executive arm of government
- •[Edit] Ministers
- •[Edit] Cabinet
- •[Edit] Cabinet sub-committees
- •[Edit] Offices
- •[Edit] Scottish Government Home Civil Service
- •[Edit] Directorates
- •[Edit] Strategic Board
- •[Edit] Permanent Secretary
- •[Edit] Executive agencies
- •[Edit] Public bodies
- •[Edit] Change of name
- •National Assembly for Wales
- •[Edit] Enhanced powers: The Government of Wales Act 2006
- •[Edit] Buildings [edit] Senedd
- •[Edit] Tŷ Hywel, Pierhead Building and Cathays Park Buildings
- •[Edit] Elected officials
- •[Edit] Permanent officials
- •[Edit] Powers and status
- •[Edit] Devolved areas
- •[Edit] Members, constituencies, and electoral system
- •[Edit] Current composition
- •Northern Ireland Executive
- •[Edit] Ministers
- •[Edit] Structure
- •[Edit] History
[Edit] Precedence, privileges and form of address
Throughout the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister outranks all other dignitaries 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).
By tradition, before a new Prime Minister can enter 10 Downing Street for the first time as its occupant, they are required to announce to the country and the world that they have kissed hands with the reigning monarch, and thus have become Prime Minister. This is usually done by saying words to the effect of:
Her Majesty the Queen [His Majesty the King] has asked me to form a government and I have accepted.
—[84][85][86]
Although it wasn't required, Tony Blair also said these words after he was re-elected in 2001 and 2005.
At present the Prime Minister receives £142,000 in addition to a salary of £65,000 as a Member of Parliament.[2][87] 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 to below that of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister traditionally resides at 10 Downing Street in London and is also entitled to use the country house of Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
The Prime Minister 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. 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.
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 "Mr Blair", "Tony Blair" or "Blair".[88] Colleagues sometimes referred to him simply as "Tony".[89] The Prime Minister is usually addressed as "Prime Minister", for example by interviewers[90] or civil servants, as in Yes, Prime Minister. Since "Prime Minister" is a position, not a title, he or she should be referred to as "the Prime Minister" or (e.g.) "Mr. Blair". The form "Prime Minister Blair" is incorrect but is sometimes used erroneously outside the UK.