1.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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MBE as awarded in 1918
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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Close up of an MBE from 1945 showing the "For God and the Empire"
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
–
Lieutenant General Sir
Robert Fulton, KBE
2.
Member of the British House of Commons
–
The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the countrys parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The House is a body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved, under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance, by convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Since 1963, by convention, the minister is always a member of the House of Commons. The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence, confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance, That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such, in particular, important bills that form a part of the Governments agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. Parliament normally sits for a term of five years. Subject to that limit, the minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament. By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without a general election. In such circumstances there may not even have been a party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim. A prime minister may resign if he or she is not defeated at the polls. In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime ministers party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader, when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor and it fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, a handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all ministers have been members of the Commons
Member of the British House of Commons
Member of the British House of Commons
–
House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Member of the British House of Commons
–
The House of Commons in the early 19th century by
Augustus Pugin and
Thomas Rowlandson.
Member of the British House of Commons
–
Another picture of the old House of Commons chamber. Note the dark veneer on the wood, which was purposely made much brighter in the new chamber.
3.
Secretary of State for Justice
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On 9 May 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, and a Ministry of Justice was created in its place. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for certain functions transferred from the Home Office, the then Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice on the abolition of his position as Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future Secretaries of State for Justice would be MPs rather than peers and he was replaced by Conservative MP Ken Clarke. In the Cabinet reshuffle of August 2012 Chris Grayling MP was promoted to Lord Chancellor and, by convention, after the 2015 UK General election, the position was given to former Government Chief Whip Michael Gove MP. Michael Gove was sacked after Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 14 July 2016 and succeeded by Liz Truss
Secretary of State for Justice
–
Incumbent
Michael Gove since 8 May 2015
Secretary of State for Justice
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
4.
Lord Chancellor
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The Lord Chancellor, formally the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. They are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking after only the Lord High Steward. Prior to the Union there were separate Lords Chancellor for England and Wales, the Lord Chancellor is a member of the Cabinet and, by law, is responsible for the efficient functioning and independence of the courts. In 2007 there were a number of changes to the legal system, the current Lord Chancellor is Elizabeth Truss, who is also Secretary of State for Justice. One of the Lord Chancellors responsibilities is to act as the custodian of the Great Seal of the Realm, a Lord Keeper of the Great Seal may be appointed instead of a Lord Chancellor. The two offices entail exactly the same duties, the distinction is in the mode of appointment. The seal is then said to be in commission, since the 19th century, however, only Lord Chancellors have been appointed, the other offices having fallen into disuse. The office of Lord Chancellor of England may trace its origins to the Carolingian monarchy, in England, the office dates at least as far back as the Norman Conquest, and possibly earlier. Some give the first Chancellor of England as Angmendus, in 605, other sources suggest that the first to appoint a Chancellor was Edward the Confessor, who is said to have adopted the practice of sealing documents instead of personally signing them. A clerk of Edwards, Regenbald, was named chancellor in some documents from Edwards reign, in any event, the office has been continuously occupied since the Norman Conquest. The chancellor headed the office or chancery. Formerly, the Lord Chancellor was almost always a churchman, as during the Middle Ages the clergy were amongst the few men of the realm. The Lord Chancellor performed multiple functions—he was the Keeper of the Great Seal, the royal chaplain. Thus, the position emerged as one of the most important ones in government and he was only outranked in government by the Justiciar. As one of the Kings ministers, the Lord Chancellor attended the curia regis or Royal Court, if a bishop, the Lord Chancellor received a writ of summons, if an ecclesiastic of a lower degree or, if a layman, he attended without any summons. The curia regis would later evolve into Parliament, the Lord Chancellor becoming the prolocutor of its upper house, as was confirmed by a statute passed during the reign of Henry VIII, a Lord Chancellor could preside over the House of Lords even if not a Lord himself. The Lord Chancellors judicial duties also evolved through his role in the curia regis, petitions for justice were normally addressed to the King and the curia, but in 1280, Edward I instructed his justices to examine and deal with petitions themselves as the Court of Kings Bench. Important petitions were to be sent to the Lord Chancellor for his decision, by the reign of Edward III, this chancellery function developed into a separate tribunal for the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
–
Incumbent
Michael Gove since 9th May 2015
Lord Chancellor
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
Lord Chancellor
–
Sir
Thomas More, one of the most famous early Lord Chancellors, served and was executed under King
Henry VIII.
Lord Chancellor
–
The uniform of the Lord High Chancellor, depicted on a
cigarette card produced for the
Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
5.
Theresa May
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Theresa Mary May is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party, having served as both since July 2016. She has been the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead since 1997, may identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been characterised as a liberal conservative. She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader after Margaret Thatcher, the daughter of a vicar, May grew up in Oxfordshire. From 1977 until 1983, she worked for the Bank of England, after unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election. She was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003, after the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previously. She won the first and second ballot of Conservative MPs by a significant margin and was due to face a vote of Conservative Party members in a contest with Andrea Leadsom, leadsoms withdrawal from the election on 11 July led to Mays appointment as party leader the same day. She was appointed Prime Minister on 13 July, as Prime Minister, Mays focus has primarily been on withdrawing the UK from the European Union. Born on 1 October 1956 in Eastbourne, Sussex, May is the child of Zaidee Mary. Her father was a Church of England clergyman who was chaplain of an Eastbourne hospital and he later became vicar of Enstone with Heythrop and finally of St Marys at Wheatley, to the east of Oxford. Mays mother was a supporter of the Conservative Party. May was educated primarily in the sector but with a short spell at an independent Catholic school. She initially attended Heythrop Primary School, a school in Heythrop, followed by St. Julianas Convent School for Girls, a Roman Catholic independent school in Begbroke. At the age of 13, May won a place at the former Holton Park Girls Grammar School, during her time as a pupil, the Oxfordshire education system was reorganised and the school became the new Wheatley Park Comprehensive School. May then attended the University of Oxford where she read geography at St Hughs College, between 1977 and 1983 May worked at the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 as a financial consultant and senior advisor in International Affairs at the Association for Payment Clearing Services. Both Mays parents died during this period, her father in a car accident in 1981, may served as a councillor for Durnsford ward on the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994, where she was Chairman of Education and Deputy Group Leader and Housing Spokesman. May then stood at the 1994 Barking by-election, which was prompted by the death of Labour MP Jo Richardson. The seat had been held by Labour since it was created in 1945 and Labour candidate Margaret Hodge was expected to win easily
Theresa May
–
The Right Honourable Theresa May
MP
Theresa May
–
St Hugh's College, Oxford
Theresa May
–
May with
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron.
Theresa May
–
May speaks at a reception for the Muslim feast of
Eid al-Adha, 21 September 2010
6.
Elizabeth Truss
–
Mary Elizabeth Liz Truss PC MP is a British Conservative Party politician who was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in 2016. She is the first female Lord Chancellor in the history of the role. She has been the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk since 2010, as a backbencher, she called for reform in a number of policy areas, including childcare, maths education, and the economy. She founded the Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs, and authored or co-authored a number of papers and books, including After the Coalition, Truss was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2012 to 2014, with responsibility for education and childcare in the Department for Education. She was the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food, on 14 July 2016, she was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor by Theresa May, succeeding Michael Gove. Truss was born in Oxford, England and she was raised in a northern, left-wing household, her father, John Truss, is a professor of pure mathematics at the University of Leeds, her mother was a nurse, teacher, and member of the CND. Truss has described both as being to the left of Labour, when Truss later ran for election to Parliament, her mother agreed to campaign for her and her father declined to do so. Truss attended a primary school in Paisley, in Scotland, followed by Roundhay School. She lived in Canada for a year, and contrasts the competitive attitude in schooling there with the education she received in Leeds. She read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Merton College, Oxford, in 2000, she married an accountant, Hugh OLeary. After graduating in 1996, Truss worked for Shell as a manager and Cable & Wireless as economics director. She co-authored The Value of Mathematics and A New Level amongst other reports, Truss was President of Oxford University Liberal Democrats and a member of the national executive committee of its youth and student wing. She also expressed republican sentiments at the 1994 Liberal Democrats conference, Truss joined the Conservative Party in 1996. She served as the chairman of the Lewisham Deptford Conservative Association from 1998 to 2000 and she was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Greenwich in 2006, standing down in 2010, shortly before the end of her term of office. Truss contested election for the Labour constituency of Hemsworth in 2001 and this brought her to the attention of Conservative Central Office, who assigned her a political mentor in Conservative MP Mark Field - the same MP with whom she later had an extramarital affair. Prior to the 2005 general election candidate for Calder Valley Sue Catling was pressured to resign by the local Conservative Association, whereupon Truss was selected to fight the seat. A locally divided Conservative party resulted in a hold for Labour, under David Cameron as Conservative leader, Truss was added to the partys controversial A List. In 2006, she was tipped to fight the by-election in the strong Conservative seat of Bromley and Chislehurst, the Daily Mail broke the story of her extra-marital affair with Mark Field
Elizabeth Truss
–
The Right Honourable Liz Truss
MP
Elizabeth Truss
–
Merton College, Oxford
7.
Leader of the House of Commons
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The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. This office does not attract a ministerial salary, and as such it is held jointly with another ministerial position. The Leader is assisted in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, at times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politicians standing within the government, however, since 2010 the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been a ministerial role at the level of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to Government business, such as introduced by the government. The Leader of the House, with the chief whips, is responsible for organising Government business. The Leader of the House additionally announces the next weeks debate schedule in the Business Statement every Thursday, when there is either no Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Ministers Questions
Leader of the House of Commons
–
Incumbent
Chris Grayling since 9 May 2015
Leader of the House of Commons
–
Robert Walpole
Leader of the House of Commons
–
Samuel Sandys
Leader of the House of Commons
–
Henry Pelham
8.
Lord President of the Council
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The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council, in the modern era, the holder is by convention always a member of one of the houses of Parliament and the office is a Cabinet post. The Lord President is currently David Lidington as of 14 July 2016, the Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council. Only a few Privy Counsellors need attend such meetings, and only invited to do so at the Governments request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most typical for the Lord President to also serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords. Before the change of government in 2010, the Lord President was Peter Mandelson, examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President. In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet responsible for the education system. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, a particularly vital role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. The Lord President served as chairman of the Lord Presidents Committee and this committee acted as a central clearing house for dealing with the countrys economic problems. This was vital to the running of the British war economy. Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar, the so-called overlord ministers included Frederick Leathers as Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power and Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton as Lord President. Wooltons job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture, the Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Privy Council Office Vice-President of the Executive Council President of the Queens Privy Council for Canada Sinecure
Lord President of the Council
–
Incumbent
Chris Grayling since 8 May 2015
Lord President of the Council
–
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
Lord President of the Council
–
Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry
Lord President of the Council
–
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
9.
Chris Grayling
–
Christopher Stephen Grayling PC is a British Conservative Party politician and former author who has been the Secretary of State for Transport since July 2016. Grayling was born in London and studied History at Cambridge University and he published a number of books as well as working for the BBC and Channel 4 before going into politics. First elected to Parliament in the 2001 general election for Epsom and Ewell, from 2007 he became the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and in 2009 he was appointed Shadow Home Secretary. Following the 2010 general election and the formation of the Coalition Government, in September 2012, he was appointed to the UK Cabinet in a reshuffle, replacing Kenneth Clarke as the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015. He was the first non-lawyer to have served as Lord Chancellor for at least 440 years and he was the Leader of the House of Commons and the Lord President of the Council between 2015 and 2016. Grayling was appointed as Transport Secretary in July 2016, when Theresa May became Prime Minister, Grayling was born in London and grew up in Buckinghamshire, where he was educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. He then went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with an upper-second class Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1984, Grayling joined BBC News in 1985 as a trainee, becoming a producer in 1986. He left the BBC in 1988 to join Channel 4 as an editor on its Business Daily television programme and he rejoined the BBC in 1991 as a business development manager on BBC Select. He became a management consultant in 1997 with Burson Marsteller, where he remained until his election to Parliament, prior to joining the Conservative Party, Grayling was a member of the Social Democratic Party. Grayling was selected to contest the Labour-held marginal seat of Warrington South at the 1997 general election and he was elected as a councillor for the Hillside ward in the London Borough of Merton in 1998 and remained on the council until 2002. Grayling was elected to the House of Commons to represent the Surrey seat of Epsom, Grayling held the seat with a majority of 10,080 and has been returned as MP there since. He made his speech on 25 June 2001. He became a Spokesman for Education and Skills by Michael Howard in 2003, in June 2007, he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a post he held until January 2009 when he became Shadow Home Secretary. Grayling became known as a national politician through his attack dog pressure on leading Labour politicians and he was heavily involved in the questioning of David Blunkett, the then Work and Pensions Secretary, over his business affairs which led to Blunketts resignation in 2005. Grayling also challenged Tony Blair and his wife Cherie over the money made from lectures while Blair was Prime Minister. He also challenged minister Stephen Byers over his handling of the Railtrack collapse, between 2001 and 2009, Grayling claimed expenses for his flat in Pimlico, close to the Houses of Parliament, despite having a constituency home no further than 17 miles away. Grayling says he uses the flat when working very late because he needs to work very erratic, during the Parliamentary expenses scandal, The Daily Telegraph reported that Grayling refitted and redecorated the flat in 2005 costing over £5,000. Graylings expenses issue was seen as embarrassing for the Conservative Party as he had previously criticised Labour ministers for being implicated in sleaze scandals, as Shadow Home Secretary, Grayling provoked controversy in August 2009 when he compared Manchesters Moss Side area to the American TV crime drama The Wire
Chris Grayling
–
The Right Honourable Chris Grayling
MP
Chris Grayling
–
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Chris Grayling
–
Colleges and
institutions
10.
Andrea Leadsom
–
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom PC MP is a British Conservative Party politician who was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 14 July 2016. She has been a Member of Parliament representing South Northamptonshire since 2010, after graduating with a degree in political science at the University of Warwick, she worked in junior roles, including as a personal assistant, at Barclays and Invesco Perpetual. Leadsom was first elected to the House of Commons in the constituency South Northamptonshire in the 2010 general election, Leadsom was a prominent member of the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum and gained standing in referendum TV debates. On David Camerons resignation, Leadsom became one of five candidates in the election for the leadership of the governing Conservative Party, and thereby for the prime ministership. Leadsom had been criticised for suggesting that May was unsuitable to be Prime Minister as she had no children, may appointed Leadsom as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in her first cabinet. Leadsom was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, the daughter of Richard and she attended Tonbridge Girls Grammar School, then read Political Science at the University of Warwick, graduating with a 2,2 in 1987. After graduation, Leadsom began a career in the sector as a debt trader for Barclays de Zoete Wedd. For Barclays itself, she served as Deputy Director in the Financial Institutions team from 1993, in this role, she said she was given a ringside seat in the collapse of Barings Bank. Leadsom clashed with the then-head of Barclay Investments, Bob Diamond, who tried to persuade her to return to work soon after a pregnancy. Later she would claim to have been a Director at Barclays, from 1997 to 1999, Leadsom served as director of her brother-in-laws hedge fund, De Putron Fund Management. Peter de Putron is her sisters husband, according to records at Companies House, Leadsom was promoted to board director for Marketing in 1998 under her maiden name. Leadsom was Head of Corporate Governance and a Senior Investment Officer at Invesco Perpetual from 1999 to 2009, approval for individuals to manage funds or deal with clients is needed from the financial services regulator, which Leadsom held from December 2002 to February 2003. Leadsom was a Councillor on South Oxfordshire District Council between 2003 and 2007 and she contested Knowsley South constituency in the 2005 general election and was on the Conservative A-List. Leadsom was selected to stand as the candidate in the newly created South Northamptonshire constituency in June 2006. In 2009, ConservativeHome said that she was defending a notional Conservative majority of 11,356, at the 2010 general election in May, Leadsom was elected with a majority of more than 20,000. On entering the House of Commons she was appointed a member of the Treasury Select Committee, on 25 October 2011, Leadsom was one of 81 Conservative MPs to defy the party whip and vote in favour of holding a referendum on the UKs membership of the European Union. This led to a sharp ruction with George Osborne at the time, in July 2012, during the Libor scandal, she was widely reported on for her contribution to the Treasury Select Committees questioning of Bob Diamond. At a subsequent hearing she questioned Paul Tucker, who stated that the government had not conspired with the Bank to fix rates
Andrea Leadsom
–
Andrea Leadsom
MP
11.
David Cameron
–
David William Donald Cameron is a British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. He served as the Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016 and was Member of Parliament for Witney from 2001 to 2016, Cameron identifies as a One-Nation Conservative, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. Born in London to wealthy upper middle-class parents, Cameron was educated at Heatherdown School, Eton College, from 1988 to 1993 he worked at the Conservative Research Department, assisting the Conservative Prime Minister John Major, before leaving politics to work for Carlton Communications in 1994. Becoming an MP in 2001, he served in the shadow cabinet under Conservative leader Michael Howard. Cameron sought to rebrand the Conservatives, embracing an increasingly liberal position. The 2010 general election led to Cameron becoming Prime Minister as the head of a government with the Liberal Democrats. His administration introduced large-scale changes to welfare, immigration policy, education and it privatised the Royal Mail and some other state assets, and legalised same-sex marriage. When the Conservatives secured a majority in the 2015 general election he remained as Prime Minister. To fulfil a manifesto pledge, he introduced a referendum on the UKs continuing membership of the EU, Cameron supported continued membership, following the success of the Leave vote, he resigned to make way for a new Prime Minister and was succeeded by Theresa May. Cameron has been praised for modernising the Conservative Party and for decreasing the United Kingdoms national deficit, conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, and has been accused of political opportunism and elitism. Cameron is the son of Ian Donald Cameron a stockbroker, and his wife Mary Fleur, a retired Justice of the Peace. Camerons parents were married on 20 October 1962, the journalist Toby Young has described Camerons background as being upper-upper-middle class. Cameron was born in Marylebone, London, and raised in Peasemore, Berkshire and he has a brother, Alexander Cameron, QC, a barrister, and two sisters, Tania Rachel and Clare Louise. Blairmore was built by Camerons great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, who had made a fortune in the trade in Chicago, Illinois. Blairmore was sold soon after Ians birth, Cameron has said, On my mothers side of the family, her mother was a Llewellyn, so Welsh. Im a real mixture of Scottish, Welsh, and English and he has also referenced the German Jewish ancestry of one of his great-grandfathers, Arthur Levita, a descendant of the Yiddish author Elia Levita. From the age of seven, Cameron was educated at two independent schools, at Heatherdown School in Winkfield in Berkshire, which counts Prince Andrew, owing to good grades, Cameron entered its top academic class almost two years early. At the age of thirteen, he went on to Eton College in Berkshire and his early interest was in art
David Cameron
–
The Right Honourable David Cameron
MP
David Cameron
–
Chapel of Eton College
David Cameron
–
Brasenose College, Oxford
David Cameron
–
The
Home Office building Cameron worked at during the 1990s
12.
Chris Bryant
–
He was previously the Shadow Minister for the Arts, Minister of State for Europe, Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Bryant previously worked as a Church of England vicar, as well as having roles at the BBC, Chris Bryant was born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother and a Welsh father. Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales, and Cheltenham and he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree, as per tradition, after completing his first degree, Bryant began his training to be a priest in the Church of England at Ripon College Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire. There, he obtained a degree in theology. Although initially a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association and he was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in 1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of All Saints, High Wycombe from 1986 to 1989 and then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough, in 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay and being a priest were incompatible. Statements made by Richard Harries, the then-Bishop of Oxford also influenced his decision, from 1993 he was Local Government officer for the Labour Party, he lived in Hackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, serving until 1998. He became Chairman of the Christian Socialist Movement and he is also a member of the Labour Friends of Israel group as well as the Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was London manager of the charity Common Purpose, in 1996 he became a full-time author, writing biographies of Stafford Cripps and Glenda Jackson. He was Labour candidate for Wycombe in the 1997 general election and he says of his surprise selection I fell off the chair, and my opponents certainly did. Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a councillor was hot favourite to win. He retained the seat comfortably at the 2001 general election with a 16,047 majority, in 2003, Bryant voted for the government in joining the Iraq War with an invasion. From 2004 until 2007, Bryant was chairman of the Labour Movement for Europe, on 5 September 2006, with Siôn Simon, he co-ordinated a prominent letter which was signed by 15 Labour backbenchers calling for Tony Blairs immediate resignation. Bryant was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Charlie Falconer and this was followed by another move in the June 2009 reshuffle, when he moved to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. On 13 October 2009, he was also appointed Minister for Europe, following the defeat of the Labour government at the General Election of 2010, Bryant returned to the back benches. He stood as one of 49 candidates for election to the 19 places in the Shadow Cabinet in the internal Labour Party poll of October 2010 and he polled 77 votes, reaching 29th position on the list. He has held various portfolios since 2010 and since 3 December 2014 has been shadow Arts Minister
Chris Bryant
–
Chris Bryant
MP
Chris Bryant
–
Chris Bryant at Portcullis House, October 2015
Chris Bryant
–
Cheltenham College
13.
Alan Duncan
–
Sir Alan James Carter Duncan, KCMG is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, between 2010 and 2014 he was the Minister of State for International Development. Duncan began his career in the oil industry with Royal Dutch Shell, after several minor positions in the government of John Major, he played a key role in William Hagues successful bid for the Conservative leadership in 1997. He was removed from the Cabinet and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael, a return to front-line politics was signalled when his appointment as a minister of state at the Foreign Office was announced on 17 July 2016. He was the first openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament, having come out in 2002. Duncan was born in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, the son of J. G. Duncan OBE, an RAF wing commander, and his wife Anne Duncan, the family travelled much, following Alans father on NATO postings, including in Gibraltar, Italy, and Norway. Duncan was educated at two independent schools, Beechwood Park School in Markyate, and Merchant Taylors School in Northwood, whilst coming from a Liberal family, and running as a Liberal at a school mock election in 1970, Duncan joined the Young Conservatives in 1972. Duncan had two brothers, who also attended Beechwood Park School, Duncan then attended St Johns College at the University of Oxford, where he coxed the college first eight, and was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1979. Whilst there, he formed a friendship with Benazir Bhutto, and he gained a Kennedy Scholarship to study at Harvard University between 1981 and 1982. After graduating from Oxford, he worked as a trader of oil and refined products, first with Royal Dutch Shell, Duncan worked for Rich in London and Singapore. From 1988 to 1992, Duncan used the connections he had built up to be self-employed, acting as a consultant and adviser to governments on oil supplies. In 1989, Duncan set up the independent Harcourt Consultants, which advises on oil and he made over a £1 million after helping fill the need to supply oil to Pakistan after Kuwaits supplies had been disrupted in the Gulf War. Duncan was an member of the Battersea Conservative Association from 1979 until 1984. After Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned in November 1990, he offered his home in Westminster as the headquarters of John Majors leadership campaign, Duncan first stood for Parliament as a Conservative candidate in the 1987 general election, unsuccessfully contesting the safe Labour seat of Barnsley West and Penistone. For the 1992 general election he was selected as the Conservative candidate for Rutland and Melton, a safe Conservative seat, which he retained with a 59% share of the votes cast. In the Labour landslide of 1997, his proportion of the vote was reduced to 46% but has increased to 48% in 2001, 51% in 2005. From 1993 to 1995, Duncan was a member of the Social Security Select Committee and his first governmental position was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Health, a position he obtained in December 1993. He resigned from the position within a month after it emerged that he had used the programme to make profits on property deals
Alan Duncan
–
The Right Honourable Sir Alan Duncan
KCMG MP
Alan Duncan
–
Merchant Taylors' School
Alan Duncan
–
Duncan in 2010
Alan Duncan
–
Star and badge of a
KCMG
14.
Michael Howard
–
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, PC, QC is a British politician who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, following which he joined the Young Conservatives, in 1964 he was called to the Bar and became a Queens Counsel in 1982. He became a Member of Parliament in the 1983 General Election, representing the constituency of Folkestone and this quickly led to promotion and Howard became Minister for Local Government in 1987. Under John Major, he held cabinet positions including Secretary of State for Employment. In November 2003, following the Conservative Partys vote of no confidence in its leader Iain Duncan Smith, he was elected unopposed. In the 2005 General Election, the Conservatives gained 33 new seats in Westminster, including five from the Liberal Democrats, following the election, Howard resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and was succeeded by David Cameron. Howard did not contest his seat of Folkestone and Hythe in the 2010 General Election, Howard was born Michael Hecht in Gorseinon, Swansea. He is the son of Bernat Hecht, who was born in Romania and his mother, Hilda, lived in Wales from the age of 6 months. Both of Howards parents were from Jewish families, when Howard was six, his parents became naturalised as British subjects, and his surname was also changed following the parents naturalisation with the new surname Howard. Howard passed his eleven-plus exam in 1952 and then attended Llanelli Boys Grammar School and he joined the Young Conservatives at age 15. He obtained eight O-levels and his subsequent A-levels earned him a place at Peterhouse at Cambridge University and he was President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1962. After taking a 2,1 in the first part of the tripos, he switched to law. Howard was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1964 and specialised in employment, unlike his many Cambridge contemporaries, he continued his career at the Bar, becoming a practising Queens Counsel in 1982. The late 1960s saw Howards promotion within the Bow Group, where he became Chairman in April 1970, in the 1970s, Howard was a leading advocate of British membership of the Common Market and served on the board of the cross-party Britain in Europe group. Howard was named as co-respondent in the divorce case of 1960s model Sandra Paul. They have a son born in 1976 and a born in 1977. C. Which he has held since childhood, in June 1982, Howard was selected to contest the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe in Kent after the sitting Conservative MP, Sir Albert Costain, decided to retire. Howard won the seat at the 1983 general election and this junior post became very important, as he oversaw the Big Bang introduction of new technology in 1986
Michael Howard
–
The Right Honourable The Lord Howard of Lympne
CH PC QC
Michael Howard
–
Insignia of C.H.
15.
Owen Paterson
–
Paterson was first appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron in 2007 as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Upon the formation of the Coalition Government in 2010 he was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in 2014 he established and became the Chairman of UK2020, a centre-right think tank based in Westminster. Paterson was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire and he attended Abberley Hall School and Radley College, before beginning studies at Cambridge University, where he read History at Corpus Christi College. He then went on to the National Leathersellers College and he joined the British Leather Company in 1979, becoming Sales Director in 1983 and managing director from 1993 to 1999. He was President of COTANCE, the European Tanners Confederation from 1996–98 and he was a Director of Parsons and Sons leather company in Halesowen in the 1990s. Paterson is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Leathersellers Company, Paterson contested, but failed to win, the Wrexham seat in the 1992 general election, as the incumbent Labour MP extended his lead with a 2. 4% swing. He served on a number of committees including the Welsh Affairs Committee, the European Standing Committee, Paterson is a supporter of the Royal Irish Regiment, which has been based in his constituency at Tern Hill. Paterson was Shadow Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister from 2003 to 2005, as agriculture spokesman he campaigned for the dairy industry. He visited Michigan, Maryland and Washington to discuss Bovine TB policy and he travelled all over the North Atlantic to produce a landmark Green Paper on Fisheries. Paterson joined the crew of the Kiroan, one of the few remaining trawlers out of Fleetwood, Lancashire and he wrote the Green Paper Consultation on a National Policy on Fisheries Management in U. K. Waters which was used by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Fish Fight Campaign. Paterson served as Shadow Minister for Transport from 2005 to 2007, whilst he was Shadow Minister for Roads, Paterson researched relevant best practice and the latest ideas from Europe and North America. He was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 2 July 2007, Paterson negotiated an agreement with the Ulster Unionist Party to re-establish the traditional links between the two parties, which was broken in 1972. This included running joint Conservative/UUP candidates for the 2009 European and 2010 general elections, news of this alliance was praised by several Conservatives, including Iain Dale and ConservativeHome. However, the alliance caused the UUPs only MP, Sylvia Hermon, lady Hermon retained her seat successfully against the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists in the 2010 Westminster election. The UUP lost seats at the elections the following year. Paterson was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the Coalition Government on 12 May 2010 and he was created a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010. One of his first tasks was overseeing the publication and delivery of the Saville Report on the events of Bloody Sunday and he worked with the Treasury to deliver his promise of a consultation on the devolution of the power to reduce the rate of Corporation Tax to Stormont. Paterson has stated that Rebalancing and rebuilding the economy is critical to the prosperity of Northern Ireland
Owen Paterson
–
The Right Honourable Owen Paterson
MP
Owen Paterson
–
Radley College
16.
Iain Duncan Smith
–
George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British Conservative Party politician. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016, he was previously the Leader of the Conservative Party, Duncan Smith was born in Edinburgh and served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, seeing tours in Northern Ireland and Rhodesia. Duncan Smith was the first Catholic to serve as a Conservative Leader, in 2010 The Tablet named him one of Britain’s most influential Catholics. Many Conservative MPs came to consider him incapable of winning an election when he was Conservative Party Leader, in 2003 his MPs passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership, he immediately resigned, and was succeeded by Michael Howard. Returning to the backbenches, he founded the centre-right Centre for Social Justice, a think tank independent of the Conservative Party, on 12 May 2010 the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, appointed Duncan Smith to serve in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He resigned from the Cabinet on 18 March 2016, in opposition to Chancellor George Osbornes proposed cuts to disability benefits, Duncan Smith was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1954. He is the son of W. G. G. Duncan Smith, a decorated Royal Air Force flying ace of World War II, and Pamela Summers, a ballerina, who were married in 1946. He is a descendant of Adam Duncan, the admiral who defeated the Dutch Navy at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797, Duncan Smith was educated at what is now St. In 1975 he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots Guards, according to the BBC, Duncan Smiths biography on the Conservative Party website and his entry in Whos Who originally stated that he had studied at the University of Perugia in Italy. A BBC investigation in 2002 found this statement to be untrue, in response to the BBC story, Duncan Smiths office stated that he had in fact attended the Università per Stranieri, a different institution in Perugia, for a year. He did not complete his course of study, sit exams, dunchurch was the former staff college for GEC Marconi, for whom Duncan Smith worked in the 1980s. He was commissioned into the Scots Guards as a lieutenant on 28 June 1975. He was promoted to lieutenant on 28 June 1977, and retired from the military on 2 April 1981, at the 1987 general election Duncan Smith contested the constituency of Bradford West, where the incumbent Labour Party MP Max Madden retained his seat. At the 1992 general election he stood in the London constituency of Chingford, following the retirement of Conservative MP, a safe seat, he became a member of the House of Commons with a majority of nearly 15,000. A committed Eurosceptic, Duncan Smith became a constant thorn in the side of Prime Minister John Majors government of 1992 to 1997, Duncan Smith remained on the backbenches until 1997, when the new Conservative leader William Hague brought him into the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Social Security Secretary. At the 1997 general election, boundary changes saw his constituency renamed Chingford and Woodford Green and his majority of 14,938 was reduced to 5,714. Duncan Smith realised the dangers that he and neighbouring Conservative MPs faced, so redoubled his efforts, I held on but everywhere around me went. In 1999, Duncan Smith replaced John Maples as Shadow Defence Secretary, William Hague resigned after the Labour Party returned to government in the 2001 general election with another large parliamentary majority
Iain Duncan Smith
–
The Right Honourable Iain Duncan Smith
MP
Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
–
Iain Duncan Smith at Nightingale House, London, in March 2010 in his role as Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice
Iain Duncan Smith
–
Politics
17.
Caroline Spelman
–
Dame Caroline Alice Spelman DBE is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who has served as the Member of Parliament for Meriden in the West Midlands since 1997. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in David Camerons coalition cabinet and she was Sugar Beet commodity secretary for the National Farmers Union from 1981 to 1984. She was deputy director of the International Confederation of European Beet Growers in Paris from 1984–9 and she co-owns Spelman, Cormack & Associates, a lobbying firm for the food and biotechnology industry, with her husband. Before entering Parliament in 1997, she stood unsuccessfully in the Bassetlaw constituency in Nottinghamshire at the 1992 general election, in 2001, Iain Duncan Smith appointed Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, a post she maintained until Duncan Smiths departure as Conservative Party leader. In March 2004, Spelman re-entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs, under David Camerons leadership of the Conservative Party, in 2007 she was promoted further to become Conservative Party Chairman. In 2009 she was moved in another reshuffle to the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, since the reshuffle, Spelman has returned to the Commons backbenches. Spelman was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum, in 2009, during the expenses scandal it was reported that Spelman had received £40,000 for cleaning and bills for her constituency home, this was despite her husband claiming it was their main home. In 2008 she reportedly over-claimed hundreds of pounds towards her council tax, Spelman claims that her nanny also acted as her constituency secretary and was paid from the public taxpayers purse for this aspect of her further employment. Haynes confirms that occasionally she would answer phone calls and post documents, the allegation against Spelman came shortly after two Conservative MEPs, Giles Chichester and Den Dover, were forced to resign amid claims they misused their parliamentary allowances. However, Spelman was not urged to resign by party leader and she referred the matter pertaining to herself, her nanny and parliamentary funds to John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Senior Conservative colleagues including former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis stated their support for Spelman, in March 2009, the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee ruled Mrs Spelman had misused her allowances to pay for nannying work in 1997 and 1998. On 24 February 2012, the High Court in London refused to continue a privacy injunction previously granted to prevent the publication of an item in the Daily Star Sunday involving her son. Judge Michael Tugendhat said that the injunction was not necessary or proportionate, on 2 March 2012, the Spelmans decided not to appeal against the decision, which permitted the publication of a story about her son. The Spelman family was required to pay the costs of the Daily Star Sunday. She married Mark Spelman, a partner at Accenture, on 25 April 1987 in south-east Kent. They have two sons and a daughter and her husband stood as a Conservative candidate in the 2009 European elections for the West Midlands region. The couple own a home, a London townhouse and a villa in Algarve, Portugal. She is a Patron of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, Spelman was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire as part of the Resignation Honours of the outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron
Caroline Spelman
–
The Right Honourable Caroline Spelman
MP
18.
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
–
1885-1918, The Sessional Divisions of Aylesbury, Chesham, and Linslade, and parts of the second Sessional Division of Desborough and the Sessional Division of Winslow. Political history The Conservative Party has held the seat since 1924, the result made the seat the 133rd safest of the Conservative Partys 331 seats by percentage of majority. The closest result since 1929 was in 1966 when the Labour Party candidate fell 7. 4% short of a majority, frontbenchers David Lidington, the current incumbent, is the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council in Theresa Mays cabinet. During the premiership of David Cameron he served as Minister for Europe, from 2007 to 2010 he had been his partys Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. MPs who have received honours Sir Stanley Reed edited The Times of India from 1907 until 1924, in all he lived in India for fifty years. He was respected in the United Kingdom as an expert on Indian current affairs and he devised the sobriquet for Jaipur, the Pink City of India. Aylesbury expanded significantly after World War II, in a way with a similar proportion of this recent development being social housing estates as private estates. The name was transferred to a new, larger, county division of Buckinghamshire, General Election 1939/40, Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The Times House of Commons 1929,1931,1935, the Times House of Commons 1945. The Times House of Commons 1950, the Times House of Commons 1955. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F. W. S, craig British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F. W. S
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
–
Margaret Wintringham
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
–
Boundary of Aylesbury in
Buckinghamshire.
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
–
C.B. Dallow
19.
Timothy Raison
–
Sir Timothy Hugh Francis Raison was a British Conservative politician. Raison was educated, through being a boy, at two independent schools, at The Dragon School in Oxford, where he became Head of School. From there he got a scholarship to Eton College near Windsor in Berkshire, thence to Christ Church at the University of Oxford, to which he also attained a Scholarship. Raison began his career as a journalist, first working on Picture Post, whilst at New Scientist he also edited Crossbow, journal of the Bow Group. In 1960 he received The Nansen Refugee Award, which is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees. He edited the science magazine New Society from 1962 until 1968 and was MP for Aylesbury from 1970 until his retirement in 1992. He served as a junior Education and Science Minister, a Home Office minister, as Home Office Minister, he authorised the deportation of several immigrants. Times Guide to the House of Commons,1987 and 1992 editions
Timothy Raison
–
Minister of Overseas Development
20.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
London
–
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace and
Central London skyline
London
London
London
–
The name London may derive from the
River Thames
21.
Conservative Party (UK)
–
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
Conservative Party (UK)
–
Sir Robert Peel, twice
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and founder of the Conservative Party, as well as the 'most considered' first Prime Minister of the UK.
Conservative Party (UK)
–
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
–
Sir Winston Churchill, twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Conservative Party (UK)
–
1929 poster attacking the
Labour Party
22.
Alma mater
–
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
Alma mater
–
The Alma Mater statue by
Mario Korbel, at the entrance of the
University of Havana in
Cuba.
Alma mater
–
John Legate's Alma Mater for Cambridge in 1600
Alma mater
–
Alma Mater (1929, Lorado Taft),
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
23.
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
–
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The college was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex and it was from its inception an avowedly Protestant foundation, some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance of good learninge. In her will, Lady Sussex left the sum of £5,000 together with some plate to found a new college at Cambridge University to be called the Lady Frances Sidney Sussex College. Her executors Sir John Harington and Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent, supervised by Archbishop John Whitgift, as of 2014, the college had an endowment of £36. m. and total capital and reserves of £108. m. By the early 19th century, the original red brick was unfashionable. H. Lyon, and somewhat at odds with the colleges original Puritan ethos, at the beginning of the twentieth century, E. H. Griffiths wrote a ten verse song dedicated to Sidney Sussex, each verse systematically identifies, then dismisses other Cambridge colleges for their faults, before settling on Sidney as the best college of all. Sidney Sussex is recognised as one of the smaller, more classical Cambridge colleges and its current student body consists of roughly 350 undergraduate students and 190 graduates. Academically, Sidney Sussex has tended towards a position in the unofficial Tompkins Table. However, the college has traditionally excelled in subjects, notably Mathematics, History, Engineering. It is also known for the standard of pastoral support from the Tutorial team. The college ranks fourth highest amongst Cambridge colleges in Nobel Prizes won by alumni, the Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge was nominated for a 2013 Gramophone Award in recognition of their disc of the music of Thomas Weelkes. The choir also tours regularly, most recently to Germany, in December 2016, in the television show University Challenge, Sidney Sussex had a winning team in both 1971 and 1978–79. The 1978 team, comprising John Gilmore, John Adams, David Lidington, the college last appeared on the television show in 2015. It is known for producing a well-regarded May Ball for a smaller college, notably, students created an artificial lake and canal in 2010, when the ball had a Venetian theme, to enable punting at the landlocked college. Recent themes have included Light, and Beyond, as with many of the smaller colleges, Sidney Sussex does not run a May Ball every year, instead running a biennial May Ball, on even numbered years. On odd numbered years, the college hosted an Arts Festival. Notable guest speakers at the Sidney Arts Festival include Stephen Fry, however, for 2017 it was decided instead to hold a June Event
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
–
Colleges of the
University of Cambridge Sidney Sussex College
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
–
A view of the college from Sidney Street
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
–
The college's adopted mascot, shown here topping an archway, is a blue and gold porcupine; from the Sidney family crest.
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
24.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
–
Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians, who are present or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, otherwise, the Privy Councils powers have now been largely replaced by the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee consists of judges appointed as Privy Counsellors, predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom was preceded by the Privy Council of Scotland, the key events in the formation of the modern Privy Council are given below, Witenagemot was an early equivalent to the Privy Council of England. During the reigns of the Norman monarchs, the English Crown was advised by a court or curia regis. The body originally concerned itself with advising the sovereign on legislation, administration, later, different bodies assuming distinct functions evolved from the court. The courts of law took over the business of dispensing justice, nevertheless, the Council retained the power to hear legal disputes, either in the first instance or on appeal. Furthermore, laws made by the sovereign on the advice of the Council, powerful sovereigns often used the body to circumvent the Courts and Parliament. During Henry VIIIs reign, the sovereign, on the advice of the Council, was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation, the legislative pre-eminence of Parliament was not restored until after Henry VIIIs death. Though the royal Council retained legislative and judicial responsibilities, it became an administrative body. The Council consisted of forty members in 1553, but the sovereign relied on a smaller committee, by the end of the English Civil War, the monarchy, House of Lords, and Privy Council had been abolished. The remaining parliamentary chamber, the House of Commons, instituted a Council of State to execute laws, the forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons, the body was headed by Oliver Cromwell, de facto military dictator of the nation. In 1653, however, Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the Council was reduced to thirteen and twenty-one members, all elected by the Commons. In 1657, the Commons granted Cromwell even greater powers, some of which were reminiscent of those enjoyed by monarchs, the Council became known as the Protectors Privy Council, its members were appointed by the Lord Protector, subject to Parliaments approval. In 1659, shortly before the restoration of the monarchy, the Protectors Council was abolished, Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers. Under George I even more power transferred to this committee and it now began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact. Thus, the British Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the sovereign and it is closely related to the word private, and derives from the French word privé
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
–
Queen Victoria convened her first
Privy Council on the day of her
accession in 1837.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
–
United Kingdom
25.
United Kingdom general election, 1992
–
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. It was the last outright win for the Conservatives until 2015 and this election result took many by surprise, as opinion polling leading up to the election day had shown the Labour Party, under leader Neil Kinnock, consistently, if narrowly, ahead. John Major had won the election in November 1990 following the resignation of Margaret Thatcher. The economy was facing a recession around the time of Majors appointment, because it confounded the opinion polls, the 1992 election was one of the most dramatic elections in the UK since the end of the Second World War. The BBCs live television broadcast of the results was presented by David Dimbleby and Peter Snow. Sky News presented full coverage of an election night for the first time. The Conservative Party received what remains the largest number of votes in British history, Labour began to lead the Conservatives in the opinion polls by as much as 20 percentage points. Thatcher resigned after the party leadership ballot in November 1990 and was replaced by John Major and this was well received by the public, Labour lost some momentum as it reduced the impact of their calls for Time for a Change. Parliament was due to no later than 16 June 1992. Major called the election on 11 March, shortly after Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont had delivered the Budget, under the leadership of Neil Kinnock the Labour party had undergone further developments and alterations since its 1987 election defeat. Labour entered the campaign confident, with most opinion polls showing a slight Labour lead that if maintained suggested a hung parliament, the parties campaigned on the familiar grounds of taxation and health care. Major became known for delivering his speeches while standing on an upturned soapbox during public meetings, immigration was also an issue, with Home Secretary Kenneth Baker making a controversial speech stating that, under Labour, the floodgates would be opened for immigrants from developing countries. Some speculated that this was a bid by the Conservatives to shore up its support amongst its white working-class supporters. The Conservatives also pounded the Labour Party over the issue of taxation, producing a memorable poster entitled Labours Double-Whammy, showing a boxer wearing gloves marked tax rises, Labour seemingly recovered from the NHS controversy, and opinion polls on 1 April showed a clear Labour lead. But the lead fell considerably in the following days polls, however some analysts and participants in the campaign believed it actually had little effect, with the event only receiving widespread attention after the election. This was the first general election for the newly formed Liberal Democrats and its formation had not been without its problems, but under the strong leadership of Paddy Ashdown, who proved to be a likeable and candid figure, the party went into the election ready. They focused on education throughout the campaign, as well as a promise on reforming the voting system, in Scotland the Scottish National Party hoped for a major electoral breakthrough in 1992 and had run a hard independence campaign with Free by 93 as their slogan. Although the party increased its vote by 50% compared to 1987
United Kingdom general election, 1992
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All
651 seats in the
House of Commons 326 seats needed for a majority
United Kingdom general election, 1992
United Kingdom general election, 1992
26.
Elstree
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In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the parish of Elstree and Borehamwood. The village often lends its name to businesses and amenities in the adjacent town of Borehamwood. The local newspaper is the Borehamwood and Elstree Times, together with Borehamwood, the village is twinned with Offenburg in Germany and Fontenay-aux-Roses in France. Elstree & Borehamwood railway station is on the Thameslink Line between London St Pancras and Bedford and it was built by the Midland Railway in 1868, and is located just north of the 1,072 yard long Elstree Tunnels. The area of Borehamwood to the west of the railway line, Elstree South tube station was due to be an extension of the Northern line, planned in the 1930s, but never completed. The old A5 road goes through Elstree village, where it is designated as the A5183 road, through the village, the road is called Elstree Hill South, High Street and Elstree Hill North. The 18th century Grade II listed building, Elstree Hill House, is still on Elstree Hill South, in the early 1900s, it was noted that. Elstree Aerodrome is licensed by the CAA and has a 2, 150-foot paved runway, suitable most for light aircraft and it also is one of the main helicopter centres for North London and is extending its provision in this area. In the early 1930s it was a landing strip for the local Aldenham House country club. A concrete runway was put down during World War II, all six were killed when it crashed and burned in heavy fog on Arkley Golf Course,3 miles short of the runway. London Transports Aldenham Works was sited on the edge of Elstree close to the A41, it was opened in 1956, closed in 1986 and it is now a large business park. Originally a 19th-century steam ship owned by the Houlder Brothers, the town lends its name to a series of ships called the Elstree Grange. Laura Ashley The Manor Hotel, formerly known as the Edgwarebury Hotel, is located on Barnet Lane, and operated by Corus Hotels. The Tudor-style building dates back to 1540, was converted into a hotel in the 1960s, notable guests have included Peter Sellers, Tom Cruise, John Cleese and Stanley Kubrick. It was the home of armaments manufacturer and First Baronet Sir Trevor Dawson. A house in Elstree designed by architect Edward John May was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1887, St Nicholas Parish Church was designed by English architect Philip Charles Hardwick. Elstree is home to Aldenham School, and Haberdashers Askes Boys School, since the 1780s, a private school has been located in Elstree
Elstree
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A poster for
Elstree Calling, a film made in 1930, named after the
film studios in Borehamwood
Elstree
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27 March 1954 Northbound steam train passing through Elstree & Borehamwood railway station.
Elstree
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Holly Bush public house (15th century)
27.
Hertfordshire
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Hertfordshire is a county in southern England, bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. For government statistical purposes, it is placed in the East of England region, in 2013, the county had a population of 1,140,700 living in an area of 634 square miles. Four towns have between 50,000 and 100,000 residents, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford and St Albans. Hertford, once the market town for the medieval agricultural county derives its name from a hart. Elevations are high for the region in the north and west and these reach over 240m in the western projection around Tring which is in the Chilterns. The countys borders are approximately the watersheds of the Colne and Lea, hertfordshires undeveloped land is mainly agricultural and much is protected by green belt. The countys landmarks span many centuries, ranging from the Six Hills in the new town of Stevenage built by local inhabitants during the Roman period, Leavesden filmed much of the UK-based $7.7 Bn box office Harry Potter film series and has the countrys studio tour. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill and his martyrs cross of a yellow saltire on a blue background is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire is well-served with motorways and railways, providing access to London. The largest sector of the economy of the county is in services, Hertfordshire was the area assigned to a fortress constructed at Hertford under the rule of Edward the Elder in 913. Hertford is derived from the Anglo-Saxon heort ford, meaning deer crossing, the name Hertfordshire is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1011. Deer feature in many county emblems, there is evidence of humans living in Hertfordshire from the Mesolithic period. It was first farmed during the Neolithic period and permanent habitation appeared at the beginning of the Bronze Age and this was followed by tribes settling in the area during the Iron Age. 293 the first recorded British martyrdom is believed to have taken place. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill. His martyrs cross of a saltire on a blue background is reflected in the flag. He is the Patron Saint of Hertfordshire, with the departure of the Roman Legions in the early 5th century, the now unprotected territory was invaded and colonised by the Anglo-Saxons. By the 6th century the majority of the county was part of the East Saxon kingdom
Hertfordshire
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Autumn harvest near St Albans
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
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The offices of
T-Mobile, Hatfield
Hertfordshire
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Headquarters of
Tesco
28.
Elizabethan era
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The Elizabethan era is the epoch in English history marked by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historians often depict it as the age in English history. In terms of the century, the historian John Guy argues that England was economically healthier, more expansive. This golden age represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of poetry, music, the era is most famous for theatre, as William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of Englands past style of theatre. It was an age of exploration and expansion abroad, while back at home and it was also the end of the period when England was a separate realm before its royal union with Scotland. The Elizabethan Age may be viewed especially highly when considered in light of the failings of the periods preceding Elizabeths reign, the Protestant/Catholic divide was settled, for a time, by the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, and parliament was not yet strong enough to challenge royal absolutism. England was also compared to the other nations of Europe. The Italian Renaissance had come to an end under the weight of Spanish domination of the peninsula, France was embroiled in its own religious battles due to significant Spanish intervention, that would only be settled in 1598 with the Edict of Nantes. The one great rival was Spain, which England clashed both in Europe and the Americas in skirmishes that exploded into the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 and this drained both the English Exchequer and economy that had been so carefully restored under Elizabeths prudent guidance. English commercial and territorial expansion would be limited until the signing of the Treaty of London the year following Elizabeths death, economically, the country began to benefit greatly from the new era of trans-Atlantic trade, persistent theft of Spanish treasure, and the African slave trade. The Victorian era and the early 20th century idealised the Elizabethan era, the Encyclopædia Britannica maintains that he long reign of Elizabeth I, 1558–1603, was Englands Golden Age. Merry England, in love with life, expressed itself in music and literature, in architecture and this idealising tendency was shared by Britain and an Anglophilic America. In popular culture, the image of those adventurous Elizabethan seafarers was embodied in the films of Errol Flynn, in response and reaction to this hyperbole, modern historians and biographers have tended to take a more dispassionate view of the Tudor period. Elizabethan England was not particularly successful in a military sense during the period, having inherited a virtually bankrupt state from previous reigns, her frugal policies restored fiscal responsibility. Her fiscal restraint cleared the regime of debt by 1574, and this general peace and prosperity allowed the attractive developments that Golden Age advocates have stressed. The Elizabethan Age was also an age of plots and conspiracies, frequently political in nature, high officials in Madrid, Paris and Rome sought to kill Elizabeth, a Protestant, and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic. That would be a prelude to the recovery of England for Catholicism. In 1570, the Ridolfi plot was thwarted, in 1584, the Throckmorton Plot was discovered, after Francis Throckmorton confessed his involvement in a plot to overthrow the Queen and restore the Catholic Church in England
Elizabethan era
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Queen Elizabeth
Elizabethan era
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The National Armada memorial in
Plymouth using the Britannia image to celebrate the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (William Charles May, sculptor, 1888)
Elizabethan era
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Elizabeth ushers in Peace and Plenty. Detail from The Family of Henry VIII: An Allegory of the Tudor Succession, c. 1572, attributed to
Lucas de Heere.
Elizabethan era
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The Spanish Armada fighting the English navy at the
Battle of Gravelines in 1588.
29.
Clifton College
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Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in the suburb of Clifton in the port city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862. Having linked its General Studies classes with Badminton School since 1738, the dedicated Jewish boarding house closed in 1738 It was at Clifton that the second-highest cricket score ever recorded was made by 13 year-old A. E. J. Collins in June 1899. Collinss 628 not out stood as the record score till January 2016 when Pranav Dhanawade,15 years old, of Mumbai, India, Collins was killed in World War I. The school was also the headquarters of the US army in Britain for part of the Second World War, Clifton is one of the original 26 English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Yearbook of 1889. The school takes boys and girls aged between 13 and 18, to distinguish it from the junior schools, Clifton College proper is referred to as the Upper School. There are around 720 children in the Upper School of whom about a third are girls, at the start of the 2004 -2005 school year, a new boarding/day house for girls was opened. During World War II the heavy bombing of Bristol caused the students to be evacuated to Bude, in February 1941 the buildings were used by the Royal Army Service Corps as an Officer Cadet Training Unit. In 1942 they were replaced by the United States Army who established it as the headquarters of V Corps, staff were involved in preparations for the Normandy landings under General Omar Bradley. After D-Day the college was taken over as headquarters of the Ninth Army under General William Hood Simpson, to enable rapid travel and communications between the headquarters and dispersed units extensive use was made of light aircraft for travel. Before 1987, Clifton was a school with seven boarding houses. In each of the current seven boarding Houses live the Housemaster or Housemistress and family, an Assistant, in addition, each House has up to four non-residential Tutors. There are also houses in Clifton College Preparatory School that are not listed below, several other houses have existed during the schools history. In WW2, while the school was evacuated to Bude, United House was created from pupils of houses placed in temporary abeyance, dakyns House and Browns House were closed in 1993, and Polacks House, which took Jewish boys only, was closed in 2005. List of Victoria Crosses by School Clifton College Register 1862 -1962 - Published by the Old Cliftonian Society Clifton College website
Clifton College
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Clifton College Crest
Clifton College
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Clifton College Upper School seen from the Close. Left - the Dining Hall, centre - the Chapel, right - the science block
Clifton College
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Students at Clifton College in 2009
Clifton College
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Big School (right) soon after it was built - 1860s
.svg)
