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Prime minister's questions (PMQs; officially Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday (when the House of Commons is sitting) during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament (MPs).[1] PMQs forms an important part of British political culture and, due to the natural drama of the sessions, it is the most well-known piece of Parliamentary business in the United Kingdom with tickets to the Strangers' Gallery (public gallery) for Wednesdays being the most sought-after parliamentary tickets.
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Although Prime Ministers have answered questions in Parliament for centuries, until the 1880s questions to the Prime Minister were treated the same as questions to other Ministers of the Crown: asked without notice, on days when ministers were available in whatever order MPs rose to ask them.[2] In 1881, fixed time-limits for questions were introduced and questions to the Prime Minister were moved to the last slot of the day as a courtesy to the 72-year-old then-Prime Minister, William Gladstone, so he could come to the Commons later in the day. In 1953, when Sir Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, it was agreed that questions would be submitted on fixed days (Tuesdays and Thursdays).[2]
A Procedure Committee report in 1959 recommended that questions to the Prime Minister be taken in two fixed-period, 15-minute slots on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The recommendations were put into practice under Prime Minister Harold Macmillan during a successful experiment from 18 July 1961 to the end of the session (4 August),[3] and the sessions were made permanent in the following session, with the first of these on 24 October 1961.[2][4][5]
The style and culture of PMQs has changed gradually over time. According to Speaker Selwyn Lloyd, the now famous disorderly behaviour of MPs during Prime Minister's Questions first arose as a result of the personal animosity between Harold Wilson and Edward Heath; before this PMQs had been lively but comparatively civilised.[2][6] In the past, Prime Ministers often opted to transfer questions to the relevant Minister, and Leaders of the Opposition did not always take their allocated number of questions in some sessions, sometimes opting not to ask any questions at all. This changed during the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher, when the Prime Minister chose not to transfer any questions to other members of her Cabinet, and Labour Leader Neil Kinnock would always take his full allocation of questions.[2]
One of Tony Blair's first acts as Prime Minister was to replace the two 15-minute sessions with a single 30-minute session at noon on Wednesdays.[2] The allocated number of questions in each session for the Leader of the Opposition was doubled from three to six, and the leader of the third largest party (which was the Liberal Party until 1988, after which it was the Liberal Democrats) was given two questions. The first PMQs to use this new format took place on 21 May 1997.[7]
Since the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government in 2010, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats (as a member of the government) has not asked questions during PMQs.[8]
Backbench MPs wishing to ask a question must enter their names on the Order Paper. The names of entrants are then shuffled in a ballot to produce a random order in which they will be called by the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Speaker will then call on MPs to put their questions, usually in an alternating fashion: one MP from the government benches is followed by one from the opposition benches. MPs who are not selected may be chosen to ask a supplementary question if they "catch the eye" of the Speaker, which is done by standing and sitting immediately before the Prime Minister gives an answer. The Leader of the Opposition is traditionally the first MP from the opposition benches to be called after the first question (whether it comes from the government or opposition benches), and the leader of the next largest opposition party is the next MP to be called from the opposition benches.
The first formal question on the Order Paper, posed by simply saying "Number One, Mr Speaker", is usually to ask the Prime Minister "if he will list his engagements for the day". The Prime Minister usually replies:
| “ | This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.[9][10][11][12][13] | ” |
Before listing his engagements, the Prime Minister sometimes extends condolences or offers congratulations after significant events. During the Iraq War, Tony Blair introduced the practice of naming any British military personnel who had been killed in service since the last time he addressed the house. The practice has been continued by Blair's successors as Prime Minister. After this, the MP may ask a supplementary question about any subject which might occupy the Prime Minister's time. Most MPs table the same engagements question and so after it has been asked for the first time, any other MPs who have tabled the same question are simply called to ask an untabled question, meaning that the Prime Minister will not know what questions will be asked of him.[14]
Occasionally the first question tabled is on a specific area of policy, not the engagements question. Though this is quite rare as it would allow the Prime Minister to prepare a response in advance; the nondescript question allows some chance of catching him or her out with an unexpected supplementary question.[14]
The Leader of the Opposition is allowed six supplementary questions, sometimes in two groups of three. In the past, the leader of the second largest opposition party asked two questions, but this practice has ended temporarily after the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Coalition. At least one of the leaders of the minor political parties is also called to ask a question.
At times of national or personal tragedy or crisis, PMQs have been temporarily suspended. The last such suspension occurred on 25 February 2009 when the Speaker, at the request of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, suspended the Commons until 12.30pm as a mark of respect following the unexpected death of David Cameron's 6-year-old son, Ivan. Prime Minister's Questions was also suspended after the sudden death of the leader of the Labour Party, John Smith, in 1994.[15]
If the Prime Minister is ever away on official business, the most senior member of the Cabinet after the Prime Minister takes questions. This is usually the deputies of each major party or Deputy Prime Minister, a post currently held by Nick Clegg.
PMQs is broadcast outside the United Kingdom, most notably on the US cable channel C-SPAN (the segment is broadcast live on C-SPAN2 on Wednesday at 7am Eastern Time, and re-run on C-SPAN on Sunday at 9pm ET)[16] and has been spoofed on the American late-night television sketch comedy Saturday Night Live.[17]
The most high-profile contributors at Prime Minister's Questions are the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, who speak opposite each other at the dispatch box. Regular, fixed sessions have taken place since 1961, and the list below shows all the Prime Ministers since 1961 and all the Opposition Leaders they faced across the floor of the House of Commons:
| Prime Minister | Leader of the Opposition | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Harold Macmillan | Hugh Gaitskell | 1961–1963 |
| George Brown | 1963 | |
| Harold Wilson | 1963 | |
| Alec Douglas-Home | Harold Wilson | 1963–1964 |
| Harold Wilson | Alec Douglas-Home | 1964–1965 |
| Edward Heath | 1965–1970 1974–1975 |
|
| Margaret Thatcher | 1975–1976 | |
| Edward Heath | Harold Wilson | 1970–1974 |
| James Callaghan | Margaret Thatcher | 1976–1979 |
| Margaret Thatcher | James Callaghan | 1979–1980 |
| Michael Foot | 1980–1983 | |
| Neil Kinnock | 1983–1990 | |
| John Major | Neil Kinnock | 1990–1992 |
| John Smith | 1992–1994 | |
| Margaret Beckett | 1994 | |
| Tony Blair | 1994–1997 | |
| Tony Blair | John Major | 1997 |
| William Hague | 1997–2001 | |
| Iain Duncan Smith | 2001–2003 | |
| Michael Howard | 2003–2005 | |
| David Cameron | 2005–2007 | |
| Gordon Brown | David Cameron | 2007–2010 |
| David Cameron | Harriet Harman | 2010 |
| Ed Miliband | 2010– |
(DPMQs; officially Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister)
Every fourth Tuesday of the month, the Deputy Prime Minister takes his own questions.[18] Also Deputy Leader of the Opposition is allowed 3 questions.The first formal question on the Order Paper, posed by simply saying "Number One, Mr Speaker", is usually to ask the Deputy Prime Minister "if he will list the government's plans for the future".
| Deputy Prime Minister | Deputy Leader of the Opposition | Years |
| Nick Clegg | Harriet Harman | 2010- |