In the USA, a brand new president often has a two-month window to arrange to maneuver into the White Home. Freshly elected British prime ministers transfer into Downing Road swiftly, usually inside hours of elections.
Keir Starmer, whose Labour Occasion gained a commanding majority within the Home of Commons, took workplace as prime minister on Friday. Simply hours after his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, made his exit, the brand new prime minister made a speech to supporters outdoors the entrance door of 10 Downing Road.
After arrival, new prime ministers are ushered contained in the constructing by workers members to obtain a briefing from members of the civil service that, in line with the Institute for Authorities, covers subjects together with residing preparations, safety protocols and appointing ministers.
Quantity 10 has had an excessive amount of observe with fast transitions. For the reason that final basic election 5 years in the past, three prime ministers have lived there, together with Liz Truss, who referred to as Downing Road house for lower than seven weeks.
The tackle has been house to Britain’s prime ministers since 1735. It’s a lot bigger than it appears from the road. Past the a lot photographed black door and the checkered entryway corridor, workplaces, residing areas and reception rooms stretch out to a lot of 12 Downing Road. A hall connects to Quantity 11, the official residence of the finance minister, or chancellor of the Exchequer.
Prime ministers usually put their very own stamp on the residing quarters, however that principally stays out of public view. When Margaret Thatcher gained her first basic election and moved into Downing Road in 1979 — she referred to as it “residing over the store” — she gave the place a makeover.
“The primary-floor examine was redecorated to her style,” wrote the historian Anthony Seldon, describing how she selected a lightweight grey wallpaper, cream-colored furnishings and fashionable artwork.
“She was intensely happy with her examine: on one event a visitor spilled espresso over the sofa and carpet,” he wrote. “Sometimes, Mrs. Thatcher spent 20 minutes herself attempting to take away any hint of a stain.”
In 1997, when Tony Blair grew to become prime minister, he and his spouse, Cherie, selected to dwell in Quantity 11, fairly than Quantity 10, due to its bigger residing space. Their fourth baby was born whereas they had been residing there.
In 2011, when Michelle Obama visited, the world received a glimpse of how David Cameron’s spouse, Samantha Cameron, had redecorated the place via a photograph launched by the White Home that was pored over by the British press.
Ten years later, Boris Johnson’s then-fiancée, Carrie Symonds, put her personal lavish stamp on the residence, sparking an investigation. The prime minister is given an annual allowance of 30,000 kilos, or round $38,000, from the general public purse to pay for renovations to Downing Road. The renovation reportedly far exceeded that quantity.
Its occupants haven’t all the time been snug. Ms. Truss stated in her memoir that she had spent weeks being bitten by fleas that some suspected had been introduced in by the canine belonging to her predecessor, Mr. Johnson. Quantity 10 needed to be fumigated.
