List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660–2007" (PDF). Royal Society. July 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2014 . Retrieved 28 August 2018. Eccleshall & Walker 2002, p.36; Englefield, Seaton & White 1995, pp.28–31; Jones & Jones 1986, p.223; Tout 1910, p.740.

Quinault, Roland (2011). British Prime Ministers and Democracy: From Disraeli to Blair. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-1105-0.

How unusual is it to have a Prime Minister without an election?

The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over a period of time through a merger of duties. [1] The term was regularly, if informally, used of Robert Walpole by the 1730s. [2] It was used in the House of Commons as early as 1805, [3] and it was certainly in parliamentary use by the 1880s. [4] Venning, Timothy (2005). "Prime Ministers". Compendium of British Office Holders. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-50587-2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911a). " Burghley, William Cecil, Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.4 (11thed.). Cambridge University Press. Political parties select their leaders in various ways, but most include a vote of their members. How unusual is it to have a Prime Minister without an election? John Smith is the man who would have been prime minister, and Blair could not have got into office if it hadn't been for the great work done by Mr Smith. New Labour today would have been very different under his leadership.

The remaining 17 changeovers happened outside of elections. Of those 17, three were followed by an election called within 50 days of the new Prime Minister taking office. Parker, Robert J. (2013). British Prime Ministers (2nded.). Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-1021-4.

‘Electing’ Prime Ministers

Having been a member of the party for a number of years, deeply disappointed after the 1992 election result and having shared a London to Edinburgh shuttle with John, I was devastated on this day as the news filtered through. I was not alone at work that day in shedding a few tears. I stood outside Cluny Kirk the evening of his funeral and just knew that Labour could not lose the 1997 election. Pryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (3rded.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-56350-5. I think he was the one man who people did believe, whether they agreed with him or not, and I think he was the best Prime Minister Britain never had! A rare man (let alone in politics) of integrity, honesty and of faith. I remember visiting his grave on the Isle of Iona in 1996, where he is buried along side the Kings of Scotland.

Ten of those 28 occasions followed a general election where the new Prime Minister led the party which gained the most votes at that general election. One changeover followed a general election where the new Prime Minister led the party which came second in the general election (Labour’s Ramsay Macdonald in 1924 who, despite coming second, managed to form a coalition government with the Liberal party). I enjoyed this book immensely. It is British political history as Plutarch might have written it: these short vignettes are Lives, not histories, composed with an eye for character rather than a magnifying glass for detail, and expressed in conversational prose seasoned with anecdotes and peppered with quips. Like Plutarch, Richards is interested in drawing wider lessons from the lives he studies. While he tells these politicians’ stories very well, he never shies away from evaluating their actions, and asking why they never made it to the very top of British politics. Often, his conclusions are sapid: that the enemies you make to be a successful minister will make prevent you from ascending higher; that few things are more dangerous than being hailed as your party’s next leader before the vacancy arises; and that you can never stray too far from your party’s beliefs, regardless of how deeply held your own convictions are, if you aspire to lead it. And while Richards emulates Plutarch in many admirable respects, I trust his historical accuracy is better.It’s that eye for a deal that makes Always Red (OR), McCluskey’s own juicy, take-no-prisoners memoir, so riveting. The former Unite leader has a reasonable claim to be the architect of Corbynism, having supported the rule changes under Ed Miliband that later helped the left break through in a leadership election, and then supplied funding, staff and strategic nous to an inexperienced Corbyn operation. The book is slippery on the intertwined nature of his private and political lives (Jennie Formby, the mother of one of his four children, ended up as Labour’s general secretary, while his partner Karie Murphy became Corbyn’s chief of staff) and arguably on antisemitism within Labour. But the final chapter on how unions can best exert leverage should be required reading for anyone in politics (or business). Chamberlain, Joseph, President of the Board of Trade (27 March 1884). "Second Reading—Adjourned Debate". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol.286. House of Commons. col.954. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. This matter was brought before the House on the 13th of May, 1874... It was opposed... by Mr. Disraeli, who was then the Leader of the House. Baroness Thatcher". Parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013 . Retrieved 30 August 2018. Deceased: 08 April 2013. I was only 11 at the time but I remember watching him as a child and thinking how impressive this man was. He inspired me as a youngster - he spoke with such truth and conviction that I wanted to vote for him. If only. I was happy to see Tony Blair elected as PM in 1997, but could never shake the feeling that if he had lived, John Smith would have been PM, and in my opinion would have done a much, much better job. A committed Christian, an honourable man and sorely missed in these days of image and spin.