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The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative,chairs the Cabinet,and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons,they sit as members of Parliament.
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council,it is chaired by the Prime Minister and its members include Secretaries of State and senior Ministers of State. Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister and are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10,the building is in Downing Street,off Whitehall in the City of Westminster.
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.
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.
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".
The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office in 10 Downing Street. In the Civil Service,the role is currently graded as director general.
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.
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.
Winston Churchill was an animal lover and kept many pets. He had pet cats and dogs such as his bulldog Dodo,wartime cat Nelson,poodle Rufus and marmalade cat,Jock. He also kept a large variety of creatures on his estate,Chartwell,including butterflies,cows,fish,pigs and swans.
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.
Peter II was a cat who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1946 to 1947,during the premiership of Clement Attlee. He was a two-month-old kitten when appointed to the role. Peter served just six months;in the early hours of 21 June 1947 he was struck by a car near the Cenotaph in Whitehall,and died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded by Peter III.
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.
Nelson was a cat who served as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office during the wartime coalition government as a pet of Winston Churchill. In the summer of 1940,after Churchill became the prime minister,Nelson moved from Admiralty House to 10 Downing Street,where he had a rivalry with his predecessor:Neville Chamberlain's cat,the Munich Mouser.
References
- ↑ "Larry the cat joins David Cameron in Downing Street". BBC.com. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
During the 1920s, Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald's cat - a renowned rat-catcher - had the rather regal title of Rufus of England, but was nicknamed "Treasury Bill".
- ↑ Campbell, Mel (19 May 2010). "'Miaow, Prime Minister': the bureaucats of Downing Street". Crikey . Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2011.(subscription required)
- ↑ "The history of Downing Street pets". PetAir UK. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
In 1924, Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald had a ginger cat named Rufus of England who sometimes went by the nickname Treasury Bill.
- ↑ "Meet Larry, Chief Mouser of the UK and perhaps the most powerful feline in the world". The New Zealand Herald. 27 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ↑ "A softer side of government: How Larry the cat became a purr-fect political companion on Downing Street - CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
- ↑ "The Cat that Looked at a Chancellor". National Library of Australia . Sunday Mail (Adelaide). 5 July 1930. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2019.