Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister was the political head of the United Kingdom. Several other nations had the same office title.
History
20th century
The Ninth Doctor mentioned meeting and drinking with David Lloyd George who was Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922 (DW: Aliens of London)
The Doctor spoke of having met and known then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II. In his sixth incarnation, he encountered Churchill twice before he became Prime Minister and prevented the Players from altering the man's timeline. (PDA: Players) Churchill would serve as Prime Minister again in the 1950s. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)
Harold Wilson was Prime Minister in the late 60s; his support in the 1970 general election was eroded by a series of disasters at scientific research facilities in 1969-70, such as Wenley Moor. Edward Heath became the new Prime Minister, but his government quickly came under fire due to the chaos at a Britain-hosted peace conference. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy)
At some point after the 1974 general election, Jeremy Thorpe of the Liberal Party came to power, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart consulted with him. (DW: The Green Death) A few years later, the Brigadier conferred with unnamed female Prime Minister. (DW: Terror of the Zygons)
"Jeremy" was a joke by the production team, implying the Liberals would win the contemporary general election. [1] The female Prime Minister is assumed to be a reference to cabinet minister Shirley Williams [2], though she was never a Labour Party leader in real life.
In the late 1980s, the Doctor would also act as a consultant to Margaret Thatcher. (SP: Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure) Despite this, he views her with distaste. (DW: Father's Day, Tooth and Claw)
On 6 May 1997, the Prime Minister, a man, is assassinated by his own bodyguard while in Washington during the Lord Xznaal crisis. (NA: The Dying Days)
At some point following this, Tony Blair became Prime Minister. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen)
21st century
In the early 21st Century, Sherilyn Harper of the far-right New Britannia party came extremely close to being voted in as Prime Minister. (BFA: The Fearmonger)
An unnamed male Prime Minister incurred the wrath of ICIS and related interests in the government due to increased links with the European Union. After he signed the Euro-Combine Treaty, this conspiracy started a wave of terrorism in the hopes of getting him to declare martial law and give ICIS the power to take charge. He later declared he would shut down ICIS over this (BFA: The Longest Night), but they briefly remained in existence for a while longer. (BFA: The Wasting)
In early 2006, following the 2005 general election, the United Kingdom has a male Prime Minister (possibly the same one). He is killed by the Slitheen, and the position of Acting Prime Minister is then assumed by Joseph Green, who is actually Jocrassa Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen wearing the slain Green's skin. Jocrassa and his brothers are later killed by a missile strike on 10 Downing Street. (DW: Aliens of London / World War Three)
By Christmas of that year, Harriet Jones had taken over from him, though she earned the disfavour of the Doctor, who ensured her political downfall. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
Jones lost power in the 2008 election, "Harold Saxon" was elected. Shortly after his election, he gassed his entire cabinet and introduced the Toclafane to the human race. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
Following on from "Saxon", Aubrey Fairchild became Prime Minister (NDA: Beautiful Chaos). During the 2009 Dalek invasion, Gwen yells to Jack that they have lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane and he is implied to have died.(DW: The Stolen Earth)
Originally, PM Fairchild was going to be exterminated by the Daleks at Westminster. (The Writer's Tale)
Alternate timelines
In the other Earth of Cybus Industries, Great Britain had the office of President rather than Prime Minister. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel)
List of British Prime Ministers
20th century
1940s
1980s
21st century
- Tony Blair (1997-2006), 9 years 1 month
- He as mentioned by Mickey Smith (DW: Rise of the Cybermen). Probably Harriet Jones' predecessor whom the Slitheen killed. (DW: Aliens of London) Following the Slitheen crisis, his death was officially deemed an accident. (whoisdoctorwho.co.uk)
- Joseph Green (acting 2006), Two days
- Ssecretly replaced by a Slitheen or else a Slitheen all along.
- Harriet Jones (2006-2008), 2 years 5 months
- The Master (2008), Less than a week
- The Master at this time used the alias of Harold Saxon.
- Aubrey Fairchild (2008-09), 1 year, 2 months
- He presumably took over from Harold Saxon (NDA: Beautiful Chaos, SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen) and was apparently killed during the Dalek invasion when the plane he was travelling on was lost. (DW: The Stolen Earth)
