Because of speculation over David CAMERON being kicked off his perch, A little snippet as to how prime ministers came to be in the first place The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the political leader of the country and the Head of Her Majestys Government. The office holder is responsible for nominating all other members of the government, chairing Cabinet meetings and deciding when to call a new general election for the House of Commons.[1][2] The Prime Minister can also make nominations to senior positions in the Church of England, nominate judges and propose the creation of new life peers.[3] There is no specific date when the office of Prime Minister first appeared, as the role was not created but evolved over a period of time.[4] The term was used in the House of Commons in 1805,[5] it was certainly in Parliamentary use by the 1880s,[6] and in 1905 the post of Prime Minister was officially given recognition in the order of precedence.[7] Modern historians generally consider Sir Robert Walpole, who led the government of Great Britain for twenty-one years from 1721 to 1742,[8][9] to be the first Prime Minister; he is also the longest serving Prime Minister of the country.[10] Due to the gradual evolution of the post of Prime Minister, the title is applied to early Prime Ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath and James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave are both sometimes listed as Prime Ministers. Bath was invited to form a ministry following the resignation of Henry Pelham in 1746, as was Waldegrave in 1757 following the dismissal of William Pitt the Elder (the dominant figure of the first Devonshire Ministry). Neither was able to command sufficient Parliamentary support to form a government; Bath stepped down after two days, and Waldegrave after four.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 09:01:39 +0000
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