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Chocolate Soldier (Parliament)
A Chocolate Soldier was a Parliamentary assistant for an opposition front bench spokesman in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust, which was endowed by the chocolate entrepreneur Joseph Rowntree. The scheme was a pilot project to assist the opposition to carry out parliamentary duties and counteract the advantage that government ministers enjoy through briefings from civil servants, and was instigated by the trust's secretary, Pratap Chitnis. In 1974, the scheme was given official parliamentary support through the provision of Short Money to opposition parties, announced by Edward Short on 29 July 1974. The Rowntree Trust made a similar fund available to the opposition in the late 1980s, to assist with travel expenses. This funding ceased in 1992, after the provision of Short Money was expanded to add a travel element. Chocolate Soldiers Many Chocolate Soldiers later made a significant contribution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster in London. Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and thereby holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories. While Parliament is bicameral, it has three parts: the sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The three parts acting together to legislate may be described as the King-in-Parliament. The Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation. The House of Commons is the elected lower chamber of Parliament, with elections to 650 single-member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. By constitutional conventi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (or Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition when a queen reigns), commonly known as the Official Opposition (or colloquially The Opposition) in the United Kingdom, is the main political opposition to His Majesty's Government. This is usually the largest political party in the House of Commons that does not form part of the government or a governing coalition. Since July 2024, the Official Opposition has been the Conservative Party, with outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak serving as Leader of the Opposition until the Conservative Party leadership election in November 2024 when newly elected party leader Kemi Badenoch took over the position. Origins The phrase ''His Majesty's Opposition'' was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two-party system, when Parliament consisted more of interests, relationships and factions rather than the highly coherent political parties of today (although the Whigs and Tories were the two main parti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Front Bench
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench (or front bench) and are described as frontbenchers. Those sitting behind them are known as backbenchers. Independent and minority parties sit to the side or on benches between the two sides, and are referred to as crossbenchers. Frontbenchers may be part of a Frontbench Team with other members of their political party. United Kingdom In the House of Commons, the Government frontbench is traditionally called the Treasury bench (HM Treasury is the oldest government department). The government frontbench is on the right hand side as seen by the Chairman (typically the Speaker of the House of Commons or the Lord Speaker), and is occupied by Government ministers. The opposition frontbench is occupied by '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Commons Of The United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of Parliament (MPs), who are elected to represent United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies by the First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament is dissolved. The House of Commons of England began to evolve in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1707 it became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the Acts of Union 1707, political union with Scotland, and from 1801 it also became the House of Commons for Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, political union of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the body became the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust
{{Use British English, date=January 2018 The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree. The trusts are based in the Rowntrees' home city of York, England. The trusts are: * the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, a Quaker philanthropic trust; * the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (until 1968, named the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust), which funds social policy research and development; * the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (formed in 1968 to take over the housing operations of the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust), which owns and manages the model village of New Earswick New Earswick is a model village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in North Yorkshire, England, near the River Foss, north of York and south of Haxby. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,812, redu ..., and a number of other housing schemes in the York area; * t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' premier', 'chief minister', ' chancellor' or other title. In Commonwealth realm jurisdictions which use the Westminster system of government, ministers are usually required to be members of one of the houses of Parliament or legislature, and are usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. In other jurisdictions—such as Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Slovenia, and Nigeria—the holder of a cabinet-level post or other government official is not permitted to be a member of the legislature. Depending on the administrative arrangements in each jurisdiction, ministers are usually heads of a government department and members of the government's ministry, cabinet and perhaps of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service official, also known as a public servant or public employee, is a person employed in the public sector by a government department or agency for public sector undertakings. Civil servants work for central and local governments, and answer to the government, not a political party. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, only Crown (national government) employees are referred to as "civil servants" whereas employees of local authorities (counties, cities and similar administrations) are generally referred to as "local government officers", who are considered public servants but not civil servants. Thus, in the UK, a civil servant is a public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratap Chitnis, Baron Chitnis
Pratap Chidamber Chitnis, Baron Chitnis (1 May 1936 – 12 July 2013) was a British Liberal political organiser. The son of Chidamber N. Chitnis and Lucia Mallik, he was born in London and educated at Stonyhurst College. He was further educated at the University of Birmingham, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, and at the University of Kansas, where he received a Master of Arts. An administration assistant of the National Coal Board from 1958 to 1959, Chitnis acted as agent for Eric Lubbock in the successful Liberal campaign in the 1962 Orpington by-election. Afterwards he rose to become head of the Liberal Party Organisation in 1966, embarking on a structural modernisation, but resigned in 1969 having had a strained relationship with party leader Jeremy Thorpe. Chitnis next worked for the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust, as secretary from 1969 to 1975, and chief executive and director from 1975 to 1988. He was a member of the Community Relations Commission ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Money
Short Money is the common name for the annual payment to opposition parties in the United Kingdom House of Commons to help them with their costs. It includes funding to assist an opposition party in carrying out its parliamentary business, for travel and associated expenses, and for the running costs of the Leader of the Opposition's office. It is named after Edward Short, the then-Leader of the House of Commons who first proposed the payments. Cranborne Money is its counterpart in the House of Lords. Origin Short Money was introduced by the Harold Wilson Government of 1974–76 following a commitment in the Queen's Speech of 12 March 1974: "My Ministers will consider the provision of financial assistance to enable Opposition parties more effectively to fulfil their Parliamentary functions". Edward Short fleshed out the proposal in a statement on Members' allowances in July 1974: The current scheme is administered under a resolution of the House of Commons of 26 May 1999 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Short, Baron Glenamara
Edward Watson Short, Baron Glenamara, (17 December 1912 – 4 May 2012) was a British Labour Party politician and deputy leader of the Labour Party. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and served as a minister during the Labour governments under Harold Wilson, before being appointed to the House of Lords shortly after James Callaghan became Prime Minister. Following the death of James Allason on 16 June 2011, Short was the oldest living former member of the British House of Commons. He died just under a year later, aged 99. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the House of Lords. Early career Short was born in Warcop, Westmorland. His father Charles Short, a draper, was married to Mary. Short qualified as a teacher at College of the Venerable Bede, Durham University, before completing a second degree, in law, at London University. He taught on Tyneside until enlisting in 1939. He served as a Captain in the Durham Light Infa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Oakeshott
Matthew Alan Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay (born 10 January 1947), is a British investment manager and member of the House of Lords, formerly sitting in Parliament as a Liberal Democrat. Early life and education Matthew Alan Oakeshott was born on 10 January 1947 to Keith Robertson Oakeshott, CMG, and Eva (''née'' Clutterbuck). Oakeshott was educated at Charterhouse before reading philosophy, politics and economics at University College, Oxford, graduating with a first, and attending Nuffield College, Oxford, where he undertook postgraduate studies without completing a degree. Early political career Oakeshott was a member of the Labour Party whilst an undergraduate at Oxford, and was one of a group of 'moderate' students who launched a breakaway from the then "left-dominated" university Labour Club in 1966. He worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Kenya from 1968 to 1970, and served as a Labour councillor on Oxford City Council from 1972 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and a peer for the Liberal Democrats, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary under the Wilson and Callaghan Governments. The son of Arthur Jenkins, a coal-miner and Labour MP, Jenkins was educated at the University of Oxford and served as an intelligence officer during the Second World War. Initially elected as MP for Southwark Central in 1948, he moved to become MP for Birmingham Stechford in 1950. On the election of Harold Wilson after the 1964 election, Jenkins was appointed Minister of Aviation. A year later, he was promoted to the Cabinet to become Home Secretary. In this role, Jenkins embarked on a major reform programme; he sought to build ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
