The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years
LONDON -- The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, putting a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But Labour leader Keir Starmer won’t officially become prime minister until a carefully scripted event on Friday during which King Charles III will formally invite him to form a new government.
It’s a moment that encapsulates the reality that, officially at least, the ability to govern in the United Kingdom is still derived from royal authority, decades after real political power was handed to elected members of Parliament.
The procedure is fast, if somewhat cruel for retiring Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Here's how the ceremonial festivities will unfold.
While Britain is a constitutional monarchy where the king’s power is severely circumscribed by law and custom, much of what happens here has echoes of the past. In this situation, the procedure harkens back to a time when the monarch wielded absolute authority and picked his foremost minister — the prime minister — to head his administration.
Today, the prime minister is the leader the party that holds a majority in the House of Commons, but theoretically he or she must still be offered the office by the queen, said Anna Whitelock, professor of history of the monarchy at London’s City University.
“It reflects our historic past and it reflects the fact that we do have a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister and the monarch therefore work hand in glove,’’ she said. “Both of them have a key role in the Constitution. And we see that enacted, on the day that a prime minister publicly takes up his position.”
First, Sunak will proceed to Buckingham Palace to present his resignation to the king. Then Starmer will arrive for his first audience with Charles.
“There’s a tiny window where between the exiting prime minister, and officially the appointment of the new one, where technically power resides for those few minutes with the monarch,’’ Whitelock said. “So there’s a brief moment where there’s effectively a kind of vacuum in terms of parliamentary democracy. … But, of course, immediately away there is that moment where the new prime minister is appointed.’’
That occurs when the prime minister-to-be sweeps into the palace for a ceremony known as the “Kissing of Hands,’’ though no kissing actually occurs. After the monarch invites Starmer to form a government, he will bend and shake Charles’ hand. A snapshot will be captured to document the instant power is transferred.
Though there’s no record of what is spoken between king and prime minister, dramatic action will be raging outside the palace gates. News helicopters will follow Starmer and Sunak’s automobiles to the palace and back. Commentators generally breathlessly document their progress and conjecture about what’s being said behind closed doors.
Traditionally, the new prime minister then departs the palace in a prime ministerial car and proceeds to Downing Street to make a statement, receiving the acclaim of staff members as he enters the famed black door of No. 10 and begins the business of administration.
In Britain, the decision of the people is conveyed fast.
After suffering a humiliating loss at the polls, Sunak will be compelled to quit the prime minister’s official house before Starmer arrives just a few hours later.
The soon-to-be ex-prime minister will be taken to the palace in a chauffeur-driven government vehicle. But after presenting his resignation, he would leave in a private vehicle and travel back to his private apartment.
The transfer is so swift that the moving vehicle for the leaving leader is generally someplace near the rear entrance of Downing Street as the incoming leader takes his bow out front.
The whole royal choreography indicates, if nothing else, that the monarchy remains a symbol of stability and continuity at a time when profound differences in society are driving fierce political discussion. The monarch, who sits above the political battle, yet controls the show — although ceremonially — and will continue to do so long when this prime minister is gone.
“Everyone will say, ‘Well, this is all the ceremonial bit,’ but it’s a really important part of the fact that governments can change in the U.K., and we don’t do riots,” said George Gross, a royal scholar at King’s College London. “Maybe that didn’t need to be said before, but in the context of the current political world and geopolitics, I think that is really healthy.’’
In her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was served by 15 prime ministers. Charles, who has been on the throne for less than two years, is now meeting his third.
“This is the summit of power,” Gross added. “Ultimately the monarchy is the continuity and prime ministers come and go.”
The monarch conducts weekly meetings with the prime minister to address government topics. While the king is politically impartial, he still has power to “advise and warn” the prime minister if he deems it’s essential. These discussions are private and the things discussed remain confidential.
The king will return to the public stage later this month for his next big royal event: the official opening of Parliament.
Traditionally, the monarch enters in a horse-drawn carriage, sits on the Sovereign’s Throne in the House of Lords and wears the Imperial State Crown.
Then, during a joint sitting of House of Lords and the House of Commons, he will make a speech drafted for him by the incoming administration to spell out its legislative program.
It’s a moment of pomp, true. But it symbolizes the function of the monarchy in modern Britain.
Read Also : What is the video quality of the DJI Spark?
Kari Pettersen
The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years
LONDON -- The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, putting a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But Labour leader Keir Starmer won’t officially become prime minister until a carefully scripted event on Friday during which King Charles III will formally invite him to form a new government.
It’s a moment that encapsulates the reality that, officially at least, the ability to govern in the United Kingdom is still derived from royal authority, decades after real political power was handed to elected members of Parliament.
The procedure is fast, if somewhat cruel for retiring Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Here's how the ceremonial festivities will unfold.
While Britain is a constitutional monarchy where the king’s power is severely circumscribed by law and custom, much of what happens here has echoes of the past. In this situation, the procedure harkens back to a time when the monarch wielded absolute authority and picked his foremost minister — the prime minister — to head his administration.
Today, the prime minister is the leader the party that holds a majority in the House of Commons, but theoretically he or she must still be offered the office by the queen, said Anna Whitelock, professor of history of the monarchy at London’s City University.
“It reflects our historic past and it reflects the fact that we do have a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister and the monarch therefore work hand in glove,’’ she said. “Both of them have a key role in the Constitution. And we see that enacted, on the day that a prime minister publicly takes up his position.”
First, Sunak will proceed to Buckingham Palace to present his resignation to the king. Then Starmer will arrive for his first audience with Charles.
“There’s a tiny window where between the exiting prime minister, and officially the appointment of the new one, where technically power resides for those few minutes with the monarch,’’ Whitelock said. “So there’s a brief moment where there’s effectively a kind of vacuum in terms of parliamentary democracy. … But, of course, immediately away there is that moment where the new prime minister is appointed.’’
That occurs when the prime minister-to-be sweeps into the palace for a ceremony known as the “Kissing of Hands,’’ though no kissing actually occurs. After the monarch invites Starmer to form a government, he will bend and shake Charles’ hand. A snapshot will be captured to document the instant power is transferred.
Though there’s no record of what is spoken between king and prime minister, dramatic action will be raging outside the palace gates. News helicopters will follow Starmer and Sunak’s automobiles to the palace and back. Commentators generally breathlessly document their progress and conjecture about what’s being said behind closed doors.
Traditionally, the new prime minister then departs the palace in a prime ministerial car and proceeds to Downing Street to make a statement, receiving the acclaim of staff members as he enters the famed black door of No. 10 and begins the business of administration.
In Britain, the decision of the people is conveyed fast.
After suffering a humiliating loss at the polls, Sunak will be compelled to quit the prime minister’s official house before Starmer arrives just a few hours later.
The soon-to-be ex-prime minister will be taken to the palace in a chauffeur-driven government vehicle. But after presenting his resignation, he would leave in a private vehicle and travel back to his private apartment.
The transfer is so swift that the moving vehicle for the leaving leader is generally someplace near the rear entrance of Downing Street as the incoming leader takes his bow out front.
The whole royal choreography indicates, if nothing else, that the monarchy remains a symbol of stability and continuity at a time when profound differences in society are driving fierce political discussion. The monarch, who sits above the political battle, yet controls the show — although ceremonially — and will continue to do so long when this prime minister is gone.
“Everyone will say, ‘Well, this is all the ceremonial bit,’ but it’s a really important part of the fact that governments can change in the U.K., and we don’t do riots,” said George Gross, a royal scholar at King’s College London. “Maybe that didn’t need to be said before, but in the context of the current political world and geopolitics, I think that is really healthy.’’
In her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was served by 15 prime ministers. Charles, who has been on the throne for less than two years, is now meeting his third.
“This is the summit of power,” Gross added. “Ultimately the monarchy is the continuity and prime ministers come and go.”
The monarch conducts weekly meetings with the prime minister to address government topics. While the king is politically impartial, he still has power to “advise and warn” the prime minister if he deems it’s essential. These discussions are private and the things discussed remain confidential.
The king will return to the public stage later this month for his next big royal event: the official opening of Parliament.
Traditionally, the monarch enters in a horse-drawn carriage, sits on the Sovereign’s Throne in the House of Lords and wears the Imperial State Crown.
Then, during a joint sitting of House of Lords and the House of Commons, he will make a speech drafted for him by the incoming administration to spell out its legislative program.
It’s a moment of pomp, true. But it symbolizes the function of the monarchy in modern Britain.
Read Also : What is the video quality of the DJI Spark?