Who is in charge of the UK in between the change over of a prime minister?

Answer 1

Good question. Maybe it's the queen or one of her lot?

Answer 2

Politicsguy is right when he said that HM Government remained in office throughout the few minutes between Tony Blair resigning to the queen, and her appointing Gordon Brown as her new prime minister. All ministers remain in office until the new PM replaces them, and apparently that includes the previous prime minister, who stays in office until his replacement is appointed by the Queen.

In theory at least the British prime minister is not, like the US president, vested with all the executive power of the State. Although in practice a UKPM can wield far greater executive power than any US president, in theory he is merely the leading member of the cabinet, and it is the cabinet which (collectively) is vested with the executive power of the British State. At first i assumed this meant that there was a vacancy in the position of prime minister, and that for a short time the remaining cabinet ministers actually held in practice what they do in theory, all executive power of the United Kingdom.

However I've since learned this isn't true. After the Queen accepts his resignation, the outgoing PM is still legally PM until his replacement is in place. I don't know if from a legal standpoint this was always the case or if it is a more recent thing to ensure that someone always holds the few emergency powers that can be exercised only by the prime minister (eg: authorizing nuclear weapons use).

It is only potentially significant if you imagine the worst happening and natural causes or even an act of war/terrorism killing the monarch before their new PM is appointed:
The outgoing prime minister would still be in office until the new king/queen was able to appoint his successor. I suppose this could be done immediately by telephone in an emergency as upon the death of the monarch their successor reigns instantly.

Similarly, if the person about to become PM died on their way to see the Queen, the Queen could immediately designate another senior and respected politician to the office, or indeed re-appoint the previous prime minister by asking him to form another government. Although able to appoint who-ever she wishes as prime minister, in practice of course the Queen would abide by convention and appoint only someone she believed held the confidence of the House of Commons, as she did when appointing Alec Douglas Hume as PM in 1963, even though he was not the official leader of the Conservative Party which then was the majority group in Parliament.

Answer 3

There is no Prime Minister, but that is not the same as us being without a government (which is still in place) or a Head of State who remains (notionally in this parliamentary democracy) the Queen. Tony Blair having resigned - and in the event of a Prime Minister being needed - Gordon Brown could be rushed to Downing Street to accept the Queen's offer to, 'form a government'; of course we know he was on his way anyway. In practice - and in this case - we still have a Cabinet who are in fact 'in charge '; the 'Prime Minister' and the office of Prime Minister being literally first amongst equals (primus inter pares) in the offices of government represented in the Cabinet.

Answer 4

The Deputy Prime Minister would be in charge.

Answer 5

I think the question should be 'who was in charge in the first place', did the woman who wears the trousers at No 10 go to Buck House to resign as well?
If not, we are still in the mire. Brown make sure she's moved out, no room for the sofa with that set of teeth.

Answer 6

Didnt you not notice we had 2 PM's for the past few months - Blair new the game was up and was off on a fairwell tour collecting more airmiles..

Answer 7

The leader of the governing party- in this case, Gordon Brown

Answer 8

Hi Paul, Tony gave it back to the Queen & now the Queen hands it over to the new PM ....

Answer 9

No one,so we were safe for a few minutes.

Answer 10

nobody it's anarchy in the UK