[Home]British elections

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British Prime Ministers 1721-2001













































































TimePrime MinisterPoltical Party
1721-42 WalpoleWhig
1742-43 ComptonWhig
1743-54 PelhamWhig
1754-56 Pelham-HollesWhig
1756-57 CavendishWhig
1757-61 Pitt - the ElderWhig
1761-62 Pelham-HollesWhig
1762-63 StuartTory
1763-65 GrenvilleWhig
1765-66 RockinghamWhig
1766-68 Pitt - the ElderWhig
1768-70 GraftonWhig
1770-82 Lord NorthTory
1782 RockinghamWhig
1782-83 ShelburneWhig
1783 BentinckCoalition
1783-1801 Pitt - the YoungerTory
1801-04 AddingtonTory
1804-06 Pitt - the YoungerTory
1806-07 Grenville
1807-09 BentinckTory
1809-12 PercevalTory
1812-27 JenkinsonTory
1827 CanningTory
1827-28 RobinsonTory
1828-30 WellingtonTory
1830-34 GreyWhig
1834 LambWhig
1834-35 PeelTory
1835-41 LambWhig
1841-46 PeelTory
1846-52 RussellWhig
1852 DerbyTory
1852-55 AberdeenPeelite
1855-58 PalmerstonLiberal
1858-59 DerbyConservative
1859-65 PalmerstonLiberal
1865-66 RussellLiberal
1866-68 DerbyConservative
1868 DisraeliConservative
1868-74 GladstoneLiberal
1874-80 DisraeliConservative
1880-85 GladstoneLiberal
1885-86 SalisburyConservative
1886 GladstoneLiberal
1886-92 SalisburyConservative
1892-94 GladstoneLiberal
1894-95 RoseberyLiberal
1895-1901 SalisburyConservative
1902-05 BalfourConservative
1905-08 Campbell-BannermanLiberal
1908-16 AsquithLiberal/Coalition
1916-22 GeorgeCoalition
1922-23 LawConservative
1923-24 BaldwinConservative
1924 MacDonald?Labour
1924-29 BaldwinConservative
1929-35 MacDonald?Labour/National Coalition
1935-37 BaldwinNational Coalition
1937-40 ChamberlainNational Coalition
1940-45 ChurchillCoalition
1945-51 AtleeLabour
1951-55 ChurchillConservative
1955-57 EdenConservative
1957-63 MacmillanConservative
1963-64 Douglas-HomeConservative
1964-70 WilsonLabour
1970-74 HeathConservative
1974-76 WilsonLabour
1976-79 CallaghanLabour
1979-90 ThatcherConservative
1990-97 MajorConservative
1997-Present BlairLabour


Electoral Reform

1832 Reform Act. Extended the right to vote to certain leaseholders and householders. (5% of the adult population could vote).

1867 Second Reform Act. Further extension of the voting regulations in counties and boroughs. (13% of the adult population could vote).

1872 Secret Ballot Act. Introduced voting by secret ballot, replacing the hustings?.

1884 Representation of the People Act. Any male occupying land or property with an annual rateable value of £10 could vote. (24% of the adult population could vote).

1918 Representation of the People Act. All males over the age of 21 were given the vote. Women over 30 got the vote. Women could become MPs. (75% of the adult population could vote)

1928 Representation of the People Act and Equal Franchise Act. Uniform voting rights were extended to all men and women over the age of 21. (99% of the adult population could vote).

1969 Representation of the People Act. The voting age was reduced to 18 for all men and women.

1985 Representation of the People Act. Voters who, at the time of an election, are abroad, either working or on holiday, may apply for a postal vote.

2000 Representation of the People Act. Introduced changes to electoral registration and extended postal vote provisions.



/Talk
*A list of the Prime Ministers

General elections take place at least every five years on a First-past-the-post election system. But the actual date is chosen at the discretion of the current Prime Minister and elections are often held before the end of the five-year term. The five years runs from the first meeting of Parliament following the election.

The Prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve Parliament by Royal Proclamation. The Proclamation the formal Writs of Election which require an election to be held. The election is held 17 working days after the date of the Proclamation.

Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Of the 16 general elections between 1945 and 2001, four have been in October, four in June, three in May and two in February.

When all of the results are known, the Queen will usually invite the leader of the party winning the most seats in the House of Commons to be Prime Minister and to form a new Government. The second largest party becomes the Official Opposition. Any smaller parties are collectively known as the Opposition, even if they support the Government.

From the Electoral register (2000) there are 44,423,440 people registered to vote in the UK, 36,994,211 of them in England.


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Last edited December 1, 2001 1:52 am by Paul Drye (diff)
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