#british prime minister

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1981 – Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. Bobby Sands dies in prison following a 66 day hunger strike. Sands would be the first of ten men to die in an effort to gain political status in a very public battle with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the House of Commons Thatcher commented on Sands death “Mr. Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life. It was a choice…

[the-cricket-chirps]

Winston Churchill

A scene on the River Meuse at Dinant

Late 1946

[tmarshconnors]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955.

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

You know what? At this point I hope the Brits are taking the opportunity to laugh at us in the middle of this Speaker clusterfuck, because after all they’ve been through they deserve a chance to revel in someone else’s political misery instead of their own.

[chaplinfortheages]

Charlie Chaplin with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, England, February 1931.

[silvereyedowl]

I decided to break down how, exactly, that works out:

Alec Douglas-Home (October 16, 1963-October 16, 1964)

Doctor Who premiered November 23, 1963 with "An Unearthly Child", the first episode of the serial later titled after it. It concluded September 12, 1964, with the last episode of "The Reign of Terror".

Harold Wilson (first term) (October 16, 1964-June 19, 1970)

Season 2 premiered October 31, 1964, with the first episode of "Planet of Giants", and concluded July 24, 1965, with the last episode of "The Time Meddler".

Season 3 premiered September 11, 1965, with the first episode of "Galaxy 4", and concluded July 16, 1966, with the last episode of "The War Machines".

Season 4 premiered September 10, 1966, with the first episode of "The Smugglers", and concluded July 1, 1967 (coincidentally Canada's 100th birthday) with the last episode of "The Evil of the Daleks".

Season 5 premiered September 2, 1967, with the first episode of "The Tomb of the Cybermen", and concluded June 1, 1968, with the last episode of "The Wheel in Space".

Season 6 premiered August 10, 1968, with the first episode of "The Dominators", and concluded June 21, 1969, with the last episode of "The War Games", ending the black-and-white era of the show.

Season 7 premiered January 3, 1970, with the first episode of "Spearhead from Space". The sixth episode of "Inferno" aired on June 13.

Edward Heath (June 19, 1970-March 4, 1974)

Season 7 concluded June 20, 1970, with the last episode of "Inferno".

Season 8 premiered January 2, 1971, with the first episode of "Terror of the Autons", and concluded June 19 with the last episode of "The Dæmons".

Season 9 premiered January 1, 1972, with the first episode of "Day of the Daleks", and concluded June 24 with the last episode of "The Time Monster".

Season 10 premiered December 30, 1972, with the first episode of "The Three Doctors", and concluded June 23, 1973, with the last episode of "The Green Death".

Season 11 premiered December 15, 1973, with the first episode of "The Time Warrior". On March 2, 1974, the second episode of "Death to the Daleks" aired.

Harold Wilson (second term) (March 4, 1974-April 5, 1976)

The third episode of "Death to the Daleks" aired on March 9, 1974. Season 11 concluded June 8 with the last episode of "Planet of the Spiders".

Season 12 premiered December 28, 1974, with the first episode of "Robot", and concluded May 10, 1975, with the last episode of "Revenge of the Cybermen".

Season 13 premiered August 30, 1975, with the first episode of "Terror of the Zygons", and concluded March 6, 1976, with the last episode of "The Seeds of Doom".

James Callaghan (April 5, 1976-May 4, 1979)

Season 14 premiered September 4, 1976, with the first episode of "The Masque of Mandragora", and concluded April 2, 1977, with the last episode of "The Talons of Weng-Chiang".

Season 15 premiered September 3, 1977, with the first episode of "Horror of Fang Rock", and concluded March 11, 1978, with the last episode of "The Invasion of Time".

Season 16 premiered September 2, 1978, with the first episode of "The Ribos Operation", and concluded February 24, 1979, with the last episode of "The Armageddon Factor".

Margaret Thatcher (May 4, 1979-November 28, 1990)

Season 17 premiered September 1, 1979, with the first episode of "Destiny of the Daleks", and concluded January 12, 1980, with the last episode of "The Horns of Nimon".

Season 18 premiered August 30, 1980, with the first episode of "The Leisure Hive", and concluded March 21, 1981, with the last episode of "Logopolis".

Season 19 premiered January 4, 1982, with the first episode of "Castrovalva", and concluded March 30 with the last episode of "Time-Flight".

Season 20 premiered January 3, 1983, with the first episode of "Arc of Infinity", and concluded March 16 with the last episode of "The King's Demons".

Season 21 premiered January 5, 1984, with the first episode of "Warriors of the Deep", and concluded March 30 with the last episode of "The Twin Dilemma".

Season 22 premiered January 5, 1985, with the first episode of "Attack of the Cybermen", and concluded March 30 with the last episode of "Revelation of the Daleks".

Season 23 premiered September 6, 1986, with the first episode of "The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet", and concluded December 6 with the last episode of "The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe".

Season 24 premiered September 7, 1987, with the first episode of "Time and the Rani", and concluded December 7 with the last episode of "Dragonfire".

Season 25 premiered October 5, 1988, with the first episode of "Remembrance of the Daleks", and concluded January 4, 1989, with the last episode of "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy".

Season 26 premiered September 6, 1989, with the first episode of "Battlefield", and concluded December 6 with the last episode of "Survival". Thus ended the classic series.

John Major (November 28, 1990-May 2, 1997)

The Doctor Who TV movie was first broadcast on May 12, 1996 on CityTV in Edmonton, Alberta (seriously). It then premiered on May 14 on FOX in the United States, and on May 27 on BBC One.

Tony Blair (May 2, 1997-June 27, 2007)

Series 1 premiered on March 25, 2005, with "Rose", and concluded on June 18 with "The Parting of the Ways".

The 2005 Christmas special was "The Christmas Invasion".

Series 2 premiered on April 15, 2006, with "New Earth" and concluded July 8 with "Doomsday".

The 2006 Christmas special was "The Runaway Bride".

Series 3 premiered on March 31, 2007, with "Smith and Jones". The twelfth episode, "The Sound of Drums", aired on June 23.

Gordon Brown (June 27, 2007-May 11, 2010)

Series 3 finale "Last of the Time Lords" aired on June 30, 2007.

The 2007 Christmas special was "Voyage of the Damned".

Series 4 premiered on April 5, 2008, with "Partners in Crime", and concluded July 5 with "Journey's End".

The 2008 Christmas special was "The Next Doctor".

Easter special "Planet of the Dead" aired on April 11, 2009. "The Waters of Mars" aired on November 15. That holiday season was marked by a two-part Christmas and New Year's special, "The End of Time", which aired on December 25, 2009, and January 1, 2010.

Series 5 premiered April 3, 2010, with "The Eleventh Hour". Episode 6, "The Vampires of Venice", aired on May 8.

David Cameron (May 11, 2010-July 13, 2016)

Series 5's seventh episode, "Amy's Choice", aired on May 15, 2010. The season concluded on June 26 with "The Big Bang".

The 2010 Christmas special was "A Christmas Carol".

Series 6 premiered April 23, 2011, with "The Impossible Astronaut". The first half concluded June 4 with "A Good Man Goes to War". The second half premiered August 27 with "Let's Kill Hitler", and concluded October 1 with "The Wedding of River Song".

The 2011 Christmas special was "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe".

The first part of Series 7 premiered September 1, 2012, with "Asylum of the Daleks", and concluded September 29 with "The Angels Take Manhattan".

The 2012 Christmas special was "The Snowmen".

The second part of Series 7 premiered March 30, 2013, with "The Bells of Saint John", and concluded May 18 with "The Name of the Doctor".

50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" premiered on November 23, 2013.

The 2013 Christmas special was "The Time of the Doctor".

Series 8 premiered August 23, 2014, with "Deep Breath", and concluded November 8 with "Death in Heaven".

The 2014 Christmas special was "Last Christmas".

Series 9 premiered September 19, 2015, with "The Magician's Apprentice", and concluded December 5 with "Hell Bent".

The 2015 Christmas special was "The Husbands of River Song".

Theresa May (July 13, 2016-July 24, 2019)

The 2016 Christmas special was "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".

Series 10 premiered April 15, 2017, with "The Pilot", and concluded July 1 with "The Doctor Falls".

The 2017 Christmas special was "Twice Upon a Time".

Series 11 premiered October 7, 2018, with "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", and concluded December 9 with "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos".

The 2019 New Year's special was "Resolution".

Boris Johnson (July 24, 2019-September 6, 2022)

Series 12 premiered January 1, 2020, with the first part of "Spyfall", and concluded March 1 with "The Timeless Children".

The 2021 New Year's special was "Revolution of the Daleks".

Series 13, aka Flux, premiered October 31, 2021, with "The Halloween Apocalypse", and concluded December 5 with "The Vanquishers".

The 2022 New Year's special was "Eve of the Daleks". Easter special "Legend of the Sea Devils" premiered April 17, 2022.

Liz Truss (September 6-October 25, 2022)

BBC Centenary special "The Power of the Doctor" premiered October 23, 2022.

Rishi Sunak (October 25, 2022-July 5, 2024)

The 60th anniversary - "The Star Beast" aired November 25, 2023, "Wild Blue Yonder" aired December 2, and "The Giggle" aired December 9.

The 2023 Christmas special was "The Church on Ruby Road".

Series 14 premiered May 11, 2024, with "Space Babies", and concluded June 22 with "Empire of Death".

Keir Starmer (July 5, 2022-)

As he only became the prime minister last month, after the most recent season ended, Starmer has not yet had an episode of Doctor Who air during his tenure. 2024 Christmas special "Joy to the World" is set to be the first.

Finally, some trivia:

Heath is the PM with the shortest gap between taking office and an episode airing, as the first episode to air during his time in office came on his second day. Blair is the PM with the longest gap. As the second and final PM of the "Wilderness Years", Series 1 premiered just under eight years after he took office.

Wilson is the PM with the most episodes aired during his tenure, at a total of 295: 235 during his first term and 60 in his second. Major and Truss are tied for the least, at one each.

Every single British Prime Minister since the show started airing in 1963 had at least one new episode of Doctor Who air during their term.

Amazingly, this is true even during the "wilderness years" of the show between 1989 and 2005 (during which only a single TV movie came out in 1996) and also true for Liz Truss who served only 50 days.

[ulkaralakbarova]

When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets Jack and his family as revenge. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Jack Ryan: Harrison Ford Dr. Caroline “Cathy” Ryan: Anne Archer Sally Ryan: Thora Birch Sean Miller: Sean Bean Kevin O’Donnell: Patrick Bergin Annette: Polly Walker Lord William Holmes: James Fox Lt. Cmdr. Robby Jackson: Samuel L. Jackson Adm. James Greer: James Earl Jones Paddy O’Neil: Richard Harris Marty Cantor: J.E. Freeman Dennis Cooley: Alex Norton Watkins: Hugh Fraser Inspector Highland: David Threlfall Owens: Alun Armstrong Sissy: Berlinda Tolbert Lord Justice: Gerald Sim First Aide: Pip Torrens Ashley: Thomas Russell Charlie Dugan: Andrew Connolly Ned Clark: Keith Campbell Jimmy Reardon: Jonathan Ryan Court Guard: P.H. Moriarty Interviewer: Bob Gunton CIA Technician: Ted Raimi Secretary: Brenda James Paddy Boy: Karl Hayden Lady Holmes: Claire Oberman Young Holmes: Oliver Stone The Electrician: Tom Watt Constable: Tim Dutton Constable: Martin Cochrane Rose: Ellen Geer Winter: John Lafayette Ferro: Shaun Duke Spiva: Fritz Sperberg CIA Analyst: Allison Barron Dr Shapiro: Philip Levien FBI Agent Shaw: Jesse D. Goins Avery: Michael Ryan Way FBI Director’s Bodyguard (uncredited): Peter Weireter Film Crew: Director of Photography: Donald McAlpine Original Music Composer: James Horner Screenplay: W. Peter Iliff Producer: Mace Neufeld Producer: Robert Rehme Director: Phillip Noyce Screenplay: Donald Stewart Editor: William Hoy Editor: Neil Travis Casting: Cathy Sandrich Gelfond Makeup Artist: Michael Key Casting: Amanda Mackey Executive Producer: Charles H. Maguire Makeup Department Head: Peter Robb-King Art Direction: Joseph P. Lucky Hairstylist: Anne Morgan Costume Design: Norma Moriceau Makeup Artist: Pat Gerhardt Set Decoration: John M. Dwyer Makeup Artist: John R. Bayless Production Design: Joseph C. Nemec III Stunts: Dick Ziker Stunts: Terry Leonard Visual Effects Supervisor: Robert Grasmere Visual Effects Supervisor: John C. Walsh Stunt Coordinator: Andy Bradford Stunt Coordinator: Steve Boyum Stunts: Michael T. Brady Stunts: Janet Brady Stunts: William H. Burton Jr. Stunts: Bobby Bass Stunts: Keith Campbell Stunts: David Burton Stunts: Clarke Coleman Stunts: Gerry Crampton Stunts: Cynthia Cypert Stunts: Laura Dash Stunts: Gabe Cronnelly Stunts: Steve M. Davison Stunts: Jeff Imada Stunts: Jeffrey J. Dashnaw Stunts: Annie Ellis Stunts: Richard M. Ellis Stunts: Tony Epper Stunts: Elaine Ford Stunts: Kenny Endoso Stunts: James M. Halty Stunt Coordinator: Martin Grace Stunts: Steve Hart Stunts: Scott Hubbell Stunts: Craig Hosking Stunts: Henry Kingi Stunts: Joel Kramer Stunts: Paul Jennings Stunts: Gene LeBell Stunts: Gary McLarty Stunts: Mark McBride Stunts: Bennie Moore Stunts: Valentino Musetti Stunts: John C. Meier Stunts: Alan Oliney Stunts: Chuck Picerni Jr. Stunt Double: Bobby Porter Stunts: Steve Picerni Stunts: Tony van Silva Stunts: Chad Randall Stunts: Rod Woodruff Stunt Double: Vic Armstrong Second Unit Director: David R. Ellis Stunts: Gregory J. Barnett Stunts: Tim A. Davison Novel: Tom Clancy Movie Reviews: John Chard: Good guys are real good, and the bad guys are real bad. Patriot Games is a more than serviceable thriller, perhaps a bit out of date when viewing it now, but still a very effective good against evil piece. The source material is so dense and intricate it was always going to be hard to condense that into a 2 hour movie, but I feel the makers manage to keep it fleshy whilst making the respective characters interesting and watchable. The acting on show is more than adequate, Harrison Ford is great in the role of Jack Ryan, he manages to portray him as a sensitive family man who can step up to the plate when things get ugly, and Anne Archer is solid enough as the wife and mother caught up in the web of nastiness unfolding. The baddies are led by the brooding Sean Bean who is a little under written, whilst Richard Harris is sadly underused. However, the action set pieces make their mark and thankfully we get a riveting...

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1980 – British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, stated in the House of Commons: "The government will never concede to political status to the hunger strikers, or to any others convicted of criminal offences in the province."

The hunger strikes of 1980-81 were a confrontation between British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the iron will of Irish republican prisoners in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh, in an attempt to break the British policy of criminalising paramilitary prisoners. The prisoners’ ultimate demand, to be granted a ‘special category status’ that distinguished them from other prisoners, led to two hunger…

[the-cricket-chirps]

Winston Churchill

Calanques, near Marseilles

1948

[canadachronicles]

Fantastic news from the United Kingdom!!

[justwatchmyeyes]

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~ Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

[lahilden]

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955.

[tmarshconnors]

"One should have had power when a young man. When wits were sharp, sinews strong… When youth departs, may wisdom prove enough."

Winston Churchill Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.