Session 7. Number 10: the Prime Minister at the centre
Key question: How does someone become Prime Minister, and how can they lose the job?
What do you remember from session 6? Answer alone in five minutes, then check.
1. How many MPs sit in the House of Commons?
2. When did the Hereditary Peers Act receive Royal Assent?
3. Put in order: Royal Assent, second reading, the Lords.
Show the recap answers
- 650.
- On 18 March 2026.
- Second reading, the Lords, Royal Assent.
Aims
- Explain how a Prime Minister is appointed
- Analyse a real change of Prime Minister in 2026
- Listen to Prime Minister's Questions and describe the exchange
To explain the rules for becoming Prime Minister and imagine what would happen in another situation, we need conditionals: zero and first (if + present) for rules and likely events, second (if + past, would + verb) for imagined situations.
Documents
Document A. The first Prime Minister
“Today often viewed as the first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole [...] was First Lord of the Treasury for over twenty years.” He was in office from 1721 to 1742. “Walpole lived in 10 Downing Street from 1735.”
Document B. The rule
“The Prime Minister is officially appointed by the Sovereign in person. [...] In order to be appointed, The Prime Minister should have the ‘ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, which in turn commands the confidence of the electorate, as expressed through a general election.’”
Source: The Royal Family, The Sovereign and the Prime Minister
Document C. A real case, 2024 to 2026 (written for this sequence)
At the general election of 4 July 2024, Labour won 411 of the 650 seats, and Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. In June 2026 he announced that he would resign. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, returned to the Commons as MP for Makerfield in June 2026, was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 16 July 2026, and became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026. There was no general election: Labour still had a majority in the Commons. At the time of writing (2 November 2026), the Leader of the Opposition is Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party.
Source: GOV.UK, Prime Minister · The Royal Family, The Sovereign and the Prime Minister · UK Parliament, Results of the general election of 4 July 2024 · UK Parliament, His Majesty's Official Opposition
Key words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| to appoint | to choose officially |
| to command the confidence of | to have the support of |
| majority | more than half of the seats |
| by-election | an election in one constituency between two general elections |
| to resign | to leave a job by choice |
| Leader of the Opposition | the leader of the second largest party in the Commons |
Words in action
EntryComplete with: appoint, majority, resign, by-election.
- The King ______ the Prime Minister.
- More than half of the seats is a ______.
- To leave a job by choice is to ______.
- A ______ takes place in one constituency between general elections.
Show the answers
1. appoints. 2. majority. 3. resign. 4. by-election.
CoreGive the noun: to appoint, to resign, to elect, to lead.
Show the answers
appointment, resignation, election, leader (or leadership).
StretchExplain to command the confidence of the House of Commons in your own words.
Show the answers
To have the support of most MPs, so that they vote for the Government's main decisions.
To say it: Conditionals
Zero: a rule, always true. If + present, present. If a party wins a majority, its leader usually becomes Prime Minister.
First: a likely future. If + present, will + verb. If the bill passes the Lords, it will become law.
Second: an imagined situation. If + past, would + verb. If the Government lost a vote of confidence, the Prime Minister would resign or ask the King for a general election.
Careful: never would in the if part (If the Government would lose).
EntryMatch the halves.
- If a party wins a majority, ...
- If the Prime Minister resigns, ...
- If the King refused Royal Assent today, ...
Show the answers
1. ... its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. 2. ... the party chooses a new leader. 3. ... there would be a political crisis.
CorePut the verbs in the right form.
- If Labour (lose) its majority, the Prime Minister (have) to find support.
- If the bill on votes at sixteen (pass), sixteen-year-olds (vote) in all UK elections.
- If Britain (elect) its Prime Minister directly, the system (look) more like the French one.
Show the answers
1. lost, would have (second, imagined). 2. passes, will vote (first, likely future). 3. elected, would look (second).
StretchWrite two second conditionals that compare the UK and France.
Show the answers
For example: If France had a monarch, the President would not be Head of State. If British voters elected the Prime Minister, the King would not need to appoint him.
Activities
- Document A and B: why does the King choose the Prime Minister, but not really? Language: Write the rule of Documents A and B as an if sentence: If a party wins a majority, its leader ...
- Document C: build the timeline from July 2024 to July 2026.
- Listening: watch two minutes of Prime Minister's Questions on parliamentlive.tv. Note who asks, who answers, the tone, the noise, the role of the Speaker.
- Mini quiz on sessions 5 to 7 (below). C1: compare with France, where the President is elected directly and appoints the Prime Minister.
Exercise: True or false? Correct the false sentences.
Use Documents A to C.
- The Prime Minister is elected directly by all British voters.
- Walpole lived at 10 Downing Street.
- Andy Burnham became Prime Minister after a general election.
- The Prime Minister needs the confidence of the House of Commons.
- In 2024, Labour won 411 seats.
Show answers
1. False: voters elect MPs; the leader of the party that commands a majority becomes Prime Minister. 2. True. 3. False: there was no general election; he became Labour leader and the King appointed him. 4. True. 5. True.
Figures of speech in the documents
“the ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons” (Document B); “Number 10”
To command is a military verb: confidence is pictured as troops that obey. This metaphor shows that a Prime Minister must lead a majority, not only have friends. Number 10 (10 Downing Street) is a metonymy, like Westminster in session 1: an address for the Prime Minister.
EntryWhat does Number 10 mean in the title?
Show the answers
The Prime Minister, who lives and works at 10 Downing Street.
CoreWhy command and not have? What does the verb suggest?
Show the answers
Command comes from the army: the Prime Minister must lead and keep a majority, as an officer leads troops.
StretchAt Prime Minister's Questions, find one rhetorical question in the two minutes you watch, and explain its aim.
Show the answers
A question that expects no answer, used to attack or to make the other side look weak. Any accurate example from the recording.
Mini quiz: sessions 5 to 7 (marked, ten points)
- What does “the King reigns but does not rule” mean?
- Who writes the King's Speech?
- Is the House of Lords elected?
- Who appoints the Prime Minister, and on what condition?
- Who has been Prime Minister since 20 July 2026?
Show the quiz answers
- He is Head of State but the Government and Parliament take the decisions (2 points).
- The Government (2 points).
- No, its members are appointed (2 points).
- The King, if the person can command the confidence of the House of Commons (2 points).
- Andy Burnham (2 points).
Expression task
Oral. Explain to a French friend how the UK changed Prime Minister in 2026 without an election, then imagine one other scenario.
EntryThree sentences: two facts, one zero conditional.
CoreOne minute: the 2026 facts, one zero conditional and one second conditional.
StretchOne minute and a half: add a comparison with France and one metaphor (to command the confidence).
Tools to use:
- if + present, present / if + past, would
- appoint, majority, resign
- Number 10
Show a model answer
In the UK, voters elect MPs, not the Prime Minister. If a party has a majority, its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. In 2026, Keir Starmer resigned, Labour chose Andy Burnham, and the King appointed him because Labour still had a majority. If the Government lost a vote of confidence, the Prime Minister would resign or ask the King for a general election.
C1 extension
“Forme et portée du discours politique”: choose one question and one answer from a recent Prime Minister's Questions and analyse the techniques used (humour, figures, attack, avoidance). 150 words.
Lesson plan for the teacher (55 minutes)
| 5 min | Marked recap |
| 10 min | Documents A and B |
| 10 min | Document C: timeline |
| 10 min | Listening: PMQs |
| 15 min | Mini quiz |
| 5 min | Homework |
In one paragraph, explain how the UK can change Prime Minister without a general election. Use the 2026 example.
Write it in your planner before the bell. It is also posted on the school platform.
Show a model answer
Model answer: In the UK, voters elect MPs, not the Prime Minister. The King appoints the person who can command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually the leader of the largest party. In 2026, Keir Starmer announced his resignation, Labour elected Andy Burnham as its leader on 16 July, and because Labour still had a majority, the King appointed him Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, without a general election.