List of British governments
This article lists successive British governments, also referred to as ministries, from the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, continuing through the duration of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922, and since then dealing with those of the present-day United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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Guide to the list
"Ministry" refers collectively to all the ministers of a government, including cabinet members and junior ministers alike. Only the Civil Service is considered outside of the ministry. While the term was in common parlance in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it has become rarer, except in official and academic uses.[1] Both Australia and Canada have inherited the term and continue to use it. It is perhaps in more common use in those countries, which both have official catalogues of their respective ministries, whereas Britain has no such catalogue.[2][3]
Articles listed by ministry contain information on the term(s) of one prime minister. Articles listed by political party contain information on the ministries of multiple consecutive prime ministers of the same political party. Prior to the 20th century, the leader of the British government held the title of First Lord of the Treasury, and not that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Therefore, the list below refers to the "Head of Government" and not the "Prime Minister". Even so, the leader of a government was often colloquially referred to as the "prime minister", beginning in the 18th century. Since 1902, prime ministers have always held the office of First Lord of the Treasury.[4]
Ministries
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See also
- List of English ministries, for ministries of the Kingdom of England
- List of Scottish Governments, for ministries of the modern Scottish Government
- List of Northern Ireland Executives, for ministries of the Northern Ireland Executive
- List of Welsh Governments, for ministries of the modern Welsh Government
- List of British shadow cabinets, for a list of shadow cabinets
- List of votes of no confidence in British governments
Notes
- Appointment, general elections, Act, etc.
- From 1711 Robert Harley was Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.
- De facto leader as Northern Secretary.
- From 1742 Robert Walpole was Earl of Orford.
- In 1746 William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath formed a short-lived ministry. He was ultimately unsuccessful, and is not gradually included in lists of British prime ministers.
- From 1876 Benjamin Disraeli was Earl of Beaconsfield (and Viscount Hughenden).
- Typically, as in these instances when an election produces a hung parliament, an incumbent government briefly continues in an acting capacity.
- For the first five days of his ministry, until he had renounced his peerage, Alec Douglas-Home was known as the Earl of Home.
Citations
- Wilding & Laundy n.d.
- "Part 6 – Historical information on the Australian Parliament" (PDF), Parliament of Australia, 31 October 2014, retrieved 6 March 2017
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "Ministers of the Crown", Parliament of Canada, retrieved 4 May 2012
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "First Lord of the Treasury", gov.uk, archived from the original on 20 May 2013, retrieved 3 September 2017
References
- Wilding NW, Laundy P (n.d.), An Encyclopaedia of Parliament, London: Cassell and Company, ISBN 978-0-304-93689-2
Further reading
- Butler D, Butler G (2010), British Political Facts (10th ed.), Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-0-230-29318-2
- Cook C, Keith B (1975), British Historical Facts: 1830–1900 (1st ed.), Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-1-349-01348-7
- Cook C, Stevenson J (1980), British Historical Facts: 1760–1830, Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-0-333-21512-8
- Cook C, Stevenson J (1988), British Historical Facts: 1688–1760 (1st ed.), Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-1-349-02369-1
- Englefield D, et al. (1995), Facts About the British Prime Ministers: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information, New York: H.W. Wilson Co., pp. 411–412, ISBN 978-0-8242-0863-9
- Macdonald DF (1967), The Age of Transition: Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, p. 240
- Tout TF (1910), An Advanced History of Great Britain from the Earliest Times to the Death of Edward VII, New York, NY: Longmans, Green, pp. 740 –741, OL 13991885M
- Venning T (2005), "Prime Ministers", Compendium of British Office Holders, Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-0-230-50587-2
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