Clement Richard Attlee,1st Earl Attlee,was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. Attlee was Deputy Prime Minister during the wartime coalition government under Winston Churchill,and Leader of the Opposition twice from 1935 to 1940 and from 1951 to 1955. He remains the longest serving Labour leader.
The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is the second highest ranking minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet. The title is not always in use and prime ministers have been known to appoint informal deputies without the title of deputy prime minister. The current deputy prime minister is Angela Rayner.
Ernest Bevin was a British statesman,trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He cofounded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and served as Minister of Labour and National Service in the wartime coalition government. He succeeded in maximising the British labour supply for both the armed services and domestic industrial production with a minimum of strikes and disruption.
Humphrey was a cat employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street from October 1989 to 13 November 1997. Arriving as a one-year-old stray,he served under the premierships of Margaret Thatcher,John Major and Tony Blair,retiring six months after the Blairs moved into Downing Street. He was the successor to Wilberforce. Humphrey was frequently referred to in jest by the press as an actual employee at Number 10.
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a specific breed,or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Black cats are the subject of myth,legend,and superstition. They are often associated with witches and good or bad luck in European folklore.
Battersea Dogs &Cats Home is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until their owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It was established in Holloway,London,in 1860 and moved to Battersea in 1871.
Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945,succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 general election,and went on to enact policies of what became known as the post-war consensus,including the establishment of the welfare state and the nationalisation of some industries. The government's spell in office was marked by post-war austerity measures,the violent crushing of pro-independence and communist movements in Malaya,the grant of independence to India,the engagement in the Cold War against Soviet Communism as well as the creation of the country's National Health Service (NHS).
Wilberforce was a cat living at 10 Downing Street who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1973 to 1987. He served during the premierships of four prime ministers:Edward Heath,Harold Wilson,James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. In obituaries published shortly after his death he was described as the "best mouser in Britain".
Sybil was a cat living at 10 and 11 Downing Street who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office as the pet of the chancellor of the Exchequer,Alistair Darling,and his wife,Margaret. When introduced in September 2007 Sybil was the first cat employed at Downing Street as chief mouser since Humphrey,who retired in November 1997. Six months after moving Sybil,who did not adjust well to life in central London,was moved to the home of one of the Darlings' friends;on 27 July 2009 she died there after a short illness.
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official resident cat at 10 Downing Street,the residence and executive office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in London. There has been a resident cat in the British government employed as a mouser and pet since the 16th century,although modern records date only to the 1920s. Despite other cats having served Downing Street,the first one to be given the official title of chief mouser by the British government was Larry in 2011. Other cats have been given this title affectionately,usually by the British press. In 2004 a study found that voters' perceptions of the chief mouser were not completely above partisanship.
Peta was the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office,beginning her term in 1964 and retiring around 1976. She was the replacement of Peter III,who had died at the age of 16 in 1964. Peta served during the premierships of three prime ministers:Alec Douglas-Home,Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. She died in 1980 after having retired to the home of a civil servant.
Larry is a British domestic tabby cat who has been Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street since 2011. He is cared for by Downing Street staff and is not the personal property of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Larry has lived at 10 Downing Street during the premierships of six prime ministers:David Cameron,Theresa May,Boris Johnson,Liz Truss,Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.
Herbert Stanley Morrison,Baron Morrison of Lambeth,was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period,he was Minister of Transport during the Second MacDonald ministry,then after losing his parliamentary seat in the 1931 general election,he became Leader of the London County Council in the 1930s. After returning to the Commons,he was defeated by Clement Attlee in the 1935 Labour Party leadership election but later acted as Home Secretary in the wartime coalition.
Freya was a cat who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2014 as the pet of the chancellor of the Exchequer,George Osborne,and his family. In September 2012,Freya shared the role of chief mouser to the Cabinet Office with Larry. In November 2014,Freya was retired from the position to the Kent countryside but ended up staying in the Oval area of London. She died on 4 August 2022.
Palmerston is a cat who was the resident Chief Mouser of the Foreign &Commonwealth Office (FCO) at Whitehall in London. He is a black-and-white bicolour cat and began his role in the position of Chief Mouser on 13 April 2016. Previously,he was from Battersea Dogs &Cats Home and is named after the former Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Lord Palmerston. He was employed at the King Charles Street building.
Gladstone is a British cat who is the resident chief mouser to HM Treasury in Whitehall,London. He is a black domestic short-haired cat,who,at eighteen months old,assumed the position of chief mouser in late June 2016. Gladstone's political namesake is former Chancellor and Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone,who served for four separate periods,more than any other Chancellor. Gladstone is responsible for catching mice at the Treasury's 1 Horse Guards Road building.
Peter was a cat who served as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom between 1929 and 1946. Whilst Peter was the second cat to serve in this role,he is often considered the first,as his predecessor,Treasury Bill,served for less than a year,and was not officially given the title.
Bob,nicknamed the Munich Mouser,also known simply as Munich,was a cat who served as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1937 to 1943. He served under the prime minister,Neville Chamberlain,from 1937 to 1940,and his successor Winston Churchill until 1943. He therefore served in the role at the same time as Peter and Nelson,the latter who became chief mouser in summer 1940 and had a rivalry with Munich.
Peter III was a cat who served as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1947 to 1964. He was the successor to Peter II,who died after being hit by a car in Whitehall. He served under five prime ministers:Clement Attlee,Winston Churchill,Anthony Eden,Harold Macmillan,and Alec Douglas-Home. He was euthanised after suffering a liver infection,aged 16,and was succeeded by Peta,a Manx cat. He was buried in Ilford,Essex.
