As Rishi Sunak packs his bags following his General Election defeat, the Mirror takes a look at what exactly happens when a Prime Minister is shown the door of Number 10 Downing Street
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Moving house is stressful at the best of times – especially when your career has taken a sharp down turn.
Perhaps we can therefore spare an ounce of empathy for outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who will now be packing his bags while nursing a wounding election defeat.
It’s unclear exactly how long it will take for Rishi to move out however, the handover process – which begins as soon as the Prime Minister calls the Opposition Leader to concede defeat – is already well underway. Mr Sunak called Sir Keir Starmer at 4.45 am this morning to congratulate him on his landslide victory, and King Charles III has now accepted his resignation following a visit to Buckingham Palace.
The King will now officially appoint Sir Keir as Britain’s Prime Minister and ask him to form a government on his behalf. In Sir Keir’s words, Labour voters will now be walking forward into the ‘sunlight of hope’, but for Mr Sunak and his supporters. today also marks the end of an era.
Coming back down to Earth after a stint as the most powerful man in the UK will likely take a little adjustment. And then there’s the practical matter of uprooting for pastures new – leaving behind a home and an office in one fell swoop.
But what exactly happens when a PM gets shown the door of Number 10? Here, the Mirror takes a look at what Rishi can expect as the moving vans park up outside…
How long do you get to move out?
Following today’s meeting with the King, the next step for the incoming PM will be the famous black door. Mr Sunak will have been expected to have made a sharp exit at least an hour before.
There is no set legal timeframe for moving out of Number 10 entirely, however, with a new occupant champing at the bit to move in, the pressure will be on. Yellow fans after often spotted outside that same day, signalling the time to hand the keys back.
In fact, historically, some outgoing PMs have been advised ahead of time to start shifting their belongings out once the writing was on the wall.
And with pre-election polls spelling doom and gloom for the Tories, Rishi, 44, may well have followed the wisdom of his predecessor John Major, who reportedly began ‘discreetly’ moving clothes out of his official residence in the weeks leading up to Tony Blair’s 1997 victory.
Declassified files from the National Archives show that Mr Major’s principal private secretary Alex Allan wrote to Mr Blair’s Jeremy Heywood in 2000, advising what should be done in the preparation for the 2002 election.
As reported by The Guardian in November 2013, Allan wrote: “This is obviously delicate. But John and [Norma] Major clearly knew the odds were that Labour would win the 1997 election. So I had some private discussions with them. Norma discreetly moved quite a lot of clothes out of Downing Street during the weeks running up to the election so that there was less to move if they did lose. If they had won, bringing clothes and other possessions back would have been a pleasure!”
Where do they go next?
Although Number 10 is the PM’s official residence, they usually have another property to head to once their time in office comes to a close. For example, Boris and Carrie Johnson headed to a five-bedroom house in Dulwich village after their time in what Cherie Blair called ‘the fishbowl’ was up.
Of course, it’s unlikely the Sunaks will have much to worry about in terms of finding a new home. The wealthy family have an impressive property portfolio, which includes a £2million Grade II-listed Georgian Manor house in Yorkshire, and a plush £5.5 million penthouse in Santa Monica.
In London alone, Mr Sunak owns two properties – including a five-bedroom Kensington mews house and pied-à-terre apartment in South Kensington.
In his resignation speech to the nation this morning, Mr Sunak apologised to the country, stating: “To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry. I have given this job my all. You have sent a clear signal the government of the United Kingdom must change and yours is the only judgement that matters.”
He continued: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take full responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success, I am sorry we could not offer what your efforts deserve.”
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