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For the Pete's World individual, see President Harriet Jones. For the production team member, see Harriet Jones.
Harriet Jones was a British politician in the early 21st century who served from 2006 till 2008 as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
History
Early career
Harriet Jones was an unassuming career backbencher, serving the constituency of Flydale North. She was at 10 Downing Street when an alien spacecraft crash-landed in the River Thames in 2006. She was there to discuss plans for the Flydale Infirmary in her "tiny little" constituency. She soon discovered that the Cabinet had been infiltrated, and that the Acting Prime Minister, Joseph Green, was actually one of the Slitheen family in disguise.
When the Doctor arrived at Downing Street to consult on the crash, she attempted to warn his companion Rose Tyler of what was happening, but the two were pursued by the unmasked aliens. Eventually she was trapped together with the Doctor and Rose in the Cabinet Rooms and aided the Doctor in determining the Slitheen's weaknesses. As the only elected representative present, Jones gave the Doctor the order to launch a Harpoon missile at Downing Street, killing the Slitheen before they could trigger off a nuclear war.
Jones, the Doctor and Rose survived thanks to the reinforced steel walls of the cabinet rooms. The Doctor told Rose that Jones was destined to be a future Prime Minister, elected for three successive terms, and the architect of Britain's Golden Age. (DW: Aliens of London / World War Three)
Prime Minister
After the incident, Harriet Jones was invited to form a government as Prime Minister. (WEB: UNIT website) During Jones' tenure, she presided over the launch of the Guinevere One space probe launched by the British Rocket Group and the extension of a Cottage Hospital scheme nationwide. Her administration also made educational initiaves and made progress with transport, particularly trains.
Also her economic plan allowed people to be £18 a week better off, according to Jackie Tyler. It was the space programme that led to her being faced with an alien invasion by the Sycorax. Although the invasion was averted by the Doctor, Jones ordered the covert Torchwood Institute organisation to shoot down the retreating Sycorax ship. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
Furious with Jones, the Doctor warned her he could bring her down with just six words, and when Harriet still stood by her actions, he did say those six words, which he whispered to her aide: "Don't you think she looks tired?" Soon she was fending off rumours of ill-health and was facing a vote of no confidence (DW: The Christmas Invasion). Her government was damaged and she lost power to Harold Saxon in the 2008 election, as she was indicated as being PM on Saxon's campaign website. Nevertheless, she stuck to her beliefs that the Earth needed self-defense from alien invasion. (DW: The Stolen Earth).
- British Prime Minister
- March 2006 - May 2008
- Preceded by: Joseph Green (acting)
- Succeeded by: Harold Saxon
Later life
After leaving office, Jones continued to work behind the scenes, devising ways to protect the earth from alien intrusion, should the Doctor ever become unavailable. With the help of the Mr Copper Foundation, she developed the subwave network, an intuitive system intended to seek out via computer anyone who has had extensive dealings with the Doctor. She based this operation out of her home, given on her diplomatic papers as 14 Mantleford Cresent, London.
Jones later used the subwave network to contact Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood Institute in an attempt to contact Donna Noble and the Doctor. However, in doing so she allowed the Daleks to trace her signal and a squad of Daleks were dispatched to exterminate her. She remained defiant in her last moments, holding up her ID card saying “Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister” and telling the Daleks that they would face their downfall in underestimating the Human race. The Daleks then exterminated her. Davros later confirmed this to the Doctor. (DW: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)
Parallel Earths
In Pete's World, Harriet Jones became President of Great Britain after the previous incumbent was killed by the Cybermen. (DW: Doomsday)
The fact the Ninth Doctor indicated that Jones was destined to serve three successive terms suggest that an alternate timeline exists in which she did just that. Judging from the Doctor's inability to quickly recall her during the Slitheen crisis, this long-serving version of herself had little direct contact with that incarnation of the Doctor. Whether her absence from the political scene in the wake of the Tenth Doctor's act of vengeance was significant enough to have created an entirely different universe is a matter as yet unexplored; however, Russell T Davies has stated that in writing Harold Saxon's election as being during one of her "golden terms", the Doctor removing her from office.
Given her death in The Stolen Earth, and the Doctor's explanation of what he can and can't change in The Fires of Pompeii, it's entirely possible that Harriet Jones' premiership was not a "fixed" point in time and could therefore be altered. Like the nature of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, the exact details of the last moments of the planet Earth in the year 5,000,000,000, the lives of countless beings unlucky enough to be in one of the Doctor's many battles, the course of Harriet Jones' premiership was somewhat "optional" to the course of history.
Personality
Jones was a modest and intelligent middle-aged woman who had served her community faithfully for years without any real ambition beyond that. However, she was able to adapt quickly to the reality of the Slitheen threat, and took to the role of leadership easily, proceeding to reassure the public at the end that the crisis was over.
Habits and quirks
Jones always introduced herself by flashing her identity card and saying, "Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North." She explained that this was because her constituency is a "tiny little place" and people would not know about it. Later, as Prime Minister, she continued to flash her card and say, "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister". She later modified her introduction to say "Harriet Jones, Former Prime Minister", flashing her passport. Whenever she did this, everyone (including the Daleks and the Sycorax) would respond "Yes, we know who you are". (DW: The Christmas Invasion, DW: The Stolen Earth)
Behind the scenes
- Harriet refers to herself as not being "one of the babes", a reference to the recent-past term "Blair's babes". This may mean she was a Labour Party MP.
- Harriet is the namesake of a track on the Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack, "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister".