Date Published 06 September 2022
Today we ushered in Britain's 56th Prime Minister. Liz Truss beat Rishi Sunak to become our Nations third female leader. Whatever your political views are here are some facts you may or may not know about the UK's Top Job!
• From Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, a total of 15 prime ministers have served under Queen Elizabeth II, now more than any other British monarch in history. George III oversaw 14 during his 59-year reign.
• Robert Walpole was the first and longest-serving prime minister, having sat for a total of 20 years and 314 days. The shortest-serving prime minister was George Canning who lasted just 119 days in office. He took on the role on 12th April 1827, but died from tuberculosis just a few months later.
• Anyone wishing to be President of the United States must be at least 35 years old. However, in the UK, any Member of Parliament can become prime minister, which means anyone over the age of 18 can take the role. William Pitt the Younger was the youngest prime minister to be appointed, at just 24.
• The salary of the prime minister changes on an almost yearly basis. It's believed that Boris Johnson was earning approximately £164,000 during 2022. This salary is totalled from his base MP salary of £84,000, plus an additional £80,000 for the role of prime minister.
• At the time, Robert Walpole rejected the term ‘prime minister' as it was seen as a term of sardonic abuse aimed at politicians who sought to rise above their station. Instead, he served as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader of the House of Commons.
• Spenser Perceval has the dubious distinction of being the British prime minister who has been assassinated while in office. The assassin, John Bellingham, shot Perceval with a pistol in 1812 because of a personal grudge against the government.
• No member of the House of Lords has served as prime minister in over 100 years. Lord Salisbury was the who served between June 1885 and his retirement in 1902, he even served as his own Foreign Secretary. There is no specific rule that prevents prime ministers from serving from the House of Lords, but the fact that members of the House of Lords can't speak in the House of Commons would make defending government policy very tricky.
