For the list, see List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Flag of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Rishi Sunak since 25 October 2022
Government of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister's Office
Cabinet Office
Style
Prime Minister (informal)
The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth)
His Excellency (diplomatic)
Type
Head of government
Status
Chief Minister of the Crown
Great Office of State
Member of
Cabinet
Privy Council
British–Irish Council
National Security Council
PM and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
Reports to
Monarch
Parliament
Residence
10 Downing Street (official)
Chequers (country house)
Appointer
The Monarch (with their choice limited to the person who can command the confidence of the House of Commons)[1]
Term length
At His Majesty's pleasure
First holder
Sir Robert Walpole
Deputy
No fixed position; often held by:
Deputy Prime Minister
First Secretary of State
Salary
£159,584 per annum (2022)[2] (including £84,144 MP salary)[3]
Website
10 Downing Street
Political offices in the UK government
Arms of the British Government
Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister / First Secretary
Treasury ministers
Secretary of State
Minister of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Private Secretary
Lord Chancellor
Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Lords
Whips
Law officers
Sinecures
List of political offices
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The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament. The current prime minister is Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party, who assumed the office on 25 October 2022.[4]
The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established convention, whereby the monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons.[5] In practice, this is the leader of the political party that holds the largest number of seats in the Commons.
The prime minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury (prior to 1905 also the official title of the position), Minister for the Civil Service and the minister responsible for national security.[6]: p.22 In 2019, the office of Minister for the Union was established; Boris Johnson became the first prime minister to hold this title.[7] The prime minister's official residence and office is 10 Downing Street in London.[8]
Fifty-seven people (fifty-four men and three women) have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Robert Walpole taking office on 3 April
1721. The longest-serving prime minister was also Walpole, who served over 20 years, and the shortest-serving was Liz Truss, who served seven weeks.
^Andersson, Jasmine (31 August 2022). "Queen to appoint new prime minister at Balmoral". BBC News.
^"Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
^"Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^"U.K Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak Officially Becomes Prime Minister and Forms Cabinet". The New York Times. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
^"The principles of government formation (Section 2.8)". The Cabinet Manual (1st ed.). Cabinet Office. October 2011. p. 14. Retrieved 24 July 2016. Prime Ministers hold office unless and until they resign. If the prime minister resigns on behalf of the Government, the sovereign will invite the person who appears most likely to be able to command the confidence of the House to serve as prime minister and to form a government.
^Cite error: The named reference manual was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Minister for the Union". GOV.UK. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^"About us - Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
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