9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been used as a separate address to the better known 10 Downing Street since 2001 for various government functions.
9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been used as a separate address to the better known 10 Downing Street since 2001 for various government functions.
The building was previously part of the more famous 10 Downing Street, which has been the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury since 1732. [1] This is normally the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [2] Many internal refurbishments over the years have altered the interior of 10 Downing Street, 11 Downing Street and 12 Downing Street to the point that they are all part of a single complex. [1] It was part of a reorganisation in 2001 that the number 9 address was created. [3]
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was based at 9 Downing Street until August 2009, when it moved to Middlesex Guildhall with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It subsequently housed the offices of the Chief Whip, though their official address remained No. 12. From 2016 until 2020 the building was used to house the Department for Exiting the European Union. [4]
In January 2020, the government began hosting lobby briefings at 9 Downing Street instead of the traditional location in the House of Commons. The move was criticised by journalists. [5] [6] That year the building began undergoing a £2.6-million refurbishment in preparation for televised press briefings to be held. [7]
The Downing Street Press Briefing Room is located in No. 9, the first press conferences were held by Boris Johnson in March 2021. [8]
In the 1980s British satirical show Spitting Image , Adolf Hitler is presented as living at 9 Downing Street under the name of Herr Willcocks and offering political assistance to the unaware Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. [9]
Downing Street is a 200-metre (660 ft) long street in the City of Westminster that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street was built in the 1680s by Irishman Sir George Downing.
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world.
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square. The street is recognised as the centre of the Government of the United Kingdom and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office. Consequently, the name 'Whitehall' is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area.
Her Majesty's Treasury, sometimes referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is the department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Treasury maintains the Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting (OSCAR), the replacement for the Combined Online Information System (COINS), which itemises departmental spending under thousands of category headings, and from which the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) annual financial statements are produced.
Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station.
Strand is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over 3⁄4 mile (1,200 m) from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street inside the City of London, and is part of the A4, a main road running west from inner London.
11 Downing Street is the official residence of Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer. The residence, in Downing Street in London, was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10 in 1682.
Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road.
12 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been traditionally used as the office of the Chief Whip although the upper floor forms part of the residential apartment for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It has been owned and used by the Crown since 1803, first housing the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces and then the Colonial Office, before the office of the Chief Whip moved into the premises in 1879 until 2001. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Harrow Road is an ancient route in North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queens Park and Kensal Green, straddling the NW10, W10, W2 and W9 postcodes. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered.
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as Downing Street Press Secretary under Boris Johnson from November 2020 to April 2021.
The terms the Lobby and Lobby journalists collectively characterise the political journalists in the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament. The term derives from the special access they receive to the Members' Lobby. Lobby journalism refers to the news coverage, largely unattributed, generated by reporters from the political proceedings in Parliament.
The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using information on what is happening in the UK and around the world, to decide on how the Prime Minister should present his or her reaction to the media. The incumbent also advises on how to handle news stories and other information which could affect the current Prime Minister or the Ministry.
Poland Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Oxford Street in the north to Broadwick Street in the south. It was named after the "King of Poland" pub, which was renamed in honour of Poland's King John III Sobieski in the heading of a coalition of western armies, crucially defeated the invading Ottoman forces at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. In the eighteenth century, Polish Protestants settled around Poland Street as religious refugees fleeing the Polish Counterreformation.
The premiership of Boris Johnson began on 24 July 2019 when Johnson accepted Queen Elizabeth II's invitation, at her prerogative, to form a new administration. It followed the resignation of Theresa May, who stood down as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party following Parliament's repeated rejection of her Brexit withdrawal agreement. Johnson was declared leader after the results of the leadership election were announced on 23 July 2019.
Caroline Louise Bevan Johnson is the wife of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Westminster City Hall is a municipal building in Victoria Street in Westminster, London. It is the headquarters of Westminster City Council.
The Downing Street Press Briefing Room is a news media room located in 9 Downing Street where press conferences are hosted by the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, and government officials. The Prime Minister also uses the room to give ministerial broadcasts to the country and the press.
Partygate is a political scandal in the United Kingdom, regarding parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when there were public health restrictions that prohibited most gatherings. While several lockdowns in the country were in place, gatherings took place at 10 Downing Street, its garden, and other government buildings. These were first reported on from late November 2021 and attracted substantial media attention, public backlash, and political controversy. In late January 2022, twelve gatherings came under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, including some attended by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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| Residence | ||
| Prime Minister's Office |
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