British Prime Ministers: A story of success and failure (Upper-Intermediate B2)

This year is the 300th anniversary of Britain's first prime minister taking power. As a definition, a prime minister is the most powerful political figure in the UK, but the backgrounds of the position are not really clear.

In the early 18th century, Britain's monarchy was losing power to Parliament. This created a chance for a politician who could control Parliament and work with the monarch. That man was Sir Robert Walpole. In spite of the fact that he didn't hold the title, historians consider him to be the country's first prime minister.

A bit of history

The politicians who followed Walpole developed his role, but no one used the term 'prime minister'. During the 19th century, however, it step-by-step became acceptable.

Britain's premiership is mainly informal in character. The prime minister's powers come from convention, rather than the law. In 1870, the prime minister acquired the exclusive right to call cabinet meetings. In 1903, it was decided he could remove ministers and, fifteen years later, that he could call general elections.

Advisers

A fundamental element of the premiership since the very beginning has been the question of advisers. Robert Walpole had the assistance of 'men of business' (friends and colleagues). Nevertheless, with the development of the professional Civil Service in the mid-19th century, the prime minister could ask for advice from some of the best specialists in the world. A hundred years later, Britain's premiers started to use special advisers, who combined party political and civil service functions. At the same time, government, which had been cabinet-led, slowly changed to prime ministerial government, and the prime minister staff numbers grew dramatically, reaching two hundred by the year 2000.

A mixed bag

In the last few decades, prime ministers have varied dramatically in quality. While Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair impressed with their general abilities, others have not covered themselves in glory. John Major and Theresa May were both compared unfavourably to Lord North, who lost England's colonies in North America in the late 18th century. David Cameron's 2016 referendum led to Brexit. Scottish independence could soon follow. Britain's current and 77th prime minister, Boris Johnson, often compared himself to Donald Trump... but not anymore!

The Ministers

1. Sir Robert Walpole (Whig Party, from 1721-42)

Britain's first Prime Minister began to live in 10 Downing Street in 1735, the first premier to do so. In 1712, he was found guilty of corruption (a trumped-up charge) and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Britain's longest- serving Prime Minister, he was excellent at pulling the political strings in Parliament.

2. Frederick North, Lord North (Tory, from 1770-82)

During his period in power, the British colonies in North America were lost, and he carried the blame ever since, although he was only partially responsible. He spent his last five years in power begging King George III to let him resign. He was charming and popular, and one of his hobbies was to tell negative anecdotes about himself.

3. Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative, 1868, 1874-80)

On becoming Prime Minister, the first and only Jew to do so, Disraeli famously said: 'I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole'. He also said: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics'. He introduced a great deal of social legislation. He was also Queen Victoria's favourite Prime Minister.

4. William Gladstone (Liberal, 1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, 1892-94)

Gladstone and Disraeli were enemies and had the greatest political rivalry in history. Gladstone served for four terms, more periods than any other Prime Minister. To the working classes, he was the Grand Old Man. He spent much of his life trying to rescue prostitutes. Queen Victoria described him as 'half-mad'.

5. Winston Churchill (Conservative, 1940-45, 1951-55)

Repeatedly voted, Churchill is Britain's most iconic Prime Minister. He showed great leadership in World War Two. Nevertheless, he was also deeply racist, fought against independence for India and opposed trade unions and workers' rights. He even used the army against strikers in Wales on one occasion.

6. Margaret Thatcher (Conservative, 1979-1990)

The first woman Prime Minister and possibly the most divisive in history. Thatcherism meant deregulation, privatisation, breaking the power of the unions and the creation of an enterprise culture. She famously said: 'There is no such thing as society', but she believed in the European Union. The IRA tried to kill her in 1984.

7. Tony Blair (Labour, 1997-2007)

Blair helped Labour Party to achieve power after eighteen years in the opposition, in the biggest landslide in history (418 seats out of 659). His legacy included revitalising the UK economy, civil partnerships, Bank of England independence, and local government for Wales and Scotland. Controversially, he joined America in the Iraq War.

8. Borish Johnson (Conservative, 2019-?)

Britain's current Prime Minister, entered Parliament as a conservative member of parliament in 2001. After two terms as Mayor of London, he became a member of parliament again in 2015. In December 2019 General Election, Johnson won a landslide victory for the Conservatives. A year later he signed a deal with European Union. Many experts have criticised him over his handling of the pandemic. However, the successful vaccination programme in Britain has restored some of his lost credibility. 

Bibliography

- 'British Prime Ministers'. Robert J. Parker. Editorial Amberley Publishing. 2013.

- 'Speak up Magazine'. Nº428 (pag. 20 - 22)