Title of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The
First Lord of the Treasury
is the head of the
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
exercising the ancient office of
Lord High Treasurer
in the United Kingdom. Constitutional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the
Prime Minister
. The office is not the United Kingdom's
finance minister
; this role is instead held by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
, who is the second lord of the
Treasury
.
Lords of the Treasury
[
edit
]
As of the beginning of the 17th century, the running of the Treasury was frequently entrusted to a commission, rather than to a single individual. Since 1714, it has permanently been in commission. The commissioners have always since that date been referred to as
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
, and adopted
ordinal numbers
to describe their seniority. Eventually in the middle of the same century, the first lord of the Treasury came to be seen as the natural head of the overall ministry running the country, and, as of the time of
Robert Walpole
(
Whig
), began to be known, unofficially, as the
prime minister
.
The term prime minister was initially, but decreasingly, used as a term of derogation; it was first used officially in a royal warrant only in 1905.
[
which?
]
William Pitt the Younger
said the prime minister "ought to be the person at the head of the finances"?though Pitt also served as
chancellor of the exchequer
for the entirety of his time as prime minister, so his linkage of the finance portfolio to the premiership was wider than merely proposing the occupation of the first lordship by the prime minister.
Prior to 1841 the first lord of the Treasury also held the office of chancellor of the exchequer unless he was a peer and thus barred from that office; in this case, the
second lord of the Treasury
usually served as chancellor. Since 1841, the chancellor has always been second lord of the Treasury when he was not also prime minister. By convention, the other Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are also Government
Whips
in the
House of Commons
.
Official residence
[
edit
]
10 Downing Street
is the official residence of the first lord of the Treasury, not the office of prime minister.
[3]
Chequers
, a
country house
in
Buckinghamshire
, is the official country residence of the prime minister, used as a weekend and holiday home, although the residence has also been used by other senior members of government.
[
citation needed
]
List of first lords (1714?1922)
[
edit
]
Much of this list overlaps with the
list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
, but there are some notable differences, principally concerning
Lord Salisbury
, who was prime minister but not first lord in 1885?86, 1887?92 and 1895?1902. Those first lords who were simultaneously prime minister are indicated in
bold
; those who were considered prime minister only during part of their term are indicated in
bold italic
.
Thereafter the posts of first lord and prime minister have continually been held by the same person
(see
List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom § 20th century
)
.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Grafton became Prime Minister on 14 October 1768.
- ^
Disraeli became
Earl of Beaconsfield
in 1876.
- ^
Salisbury continued to serve as Prime Minister until 11 August 1892.
- ^
Balfour became Prime Minister on 11 July 1902.
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Blick, Andrew; Jones, George (7 June 2010),
"The power of the Prime Minister"
,
History & Policy
, United Kingdom
, retrieved
7 April
2020
- Haydn, Joseph Timothy
(1890),
The Book of Dignities
, London: W. H. Allen and Co.,
OL
13505280M
- Pryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (23 February 1996),
Handbook of British Chronology
(3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press,
ISBN
978-0-521-56350-5
UK cabinet portfolios
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