Prime Minister's Questions

Prime minister's questions (often abbreviated to PMQs and officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister) is questioning by MPs of the prime minister that takes place by constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, since 1997 held as a single session every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting, during which the prime minister spends around half an hour answering questions from members of parliament (MPs).

PMQs forms an important part of British political culture and, due to the natural drama of the sessions, it is among the best-known parliamentary business in the country, with tickets to the Strangers' Gallery (the public gallery) for Wednesdays being the most sought-after parliamentary tickets.

Read more about Prime Minister's Questions:  History, Practice, Leaders At The Dispatch Box Since 1961, Deputy Prime Minister's Questions

Famous quotes containing the words prime minister, prime, minister and/or questions:

    One wants in a Prime Minister a good many things, but not very great things. He should be clever but need not be a genius; he should be conscientious but by no means strait-laced; he should be cautious but never timid, bold but never venturesome; he should have a good digestion, genial manners, and, above all, a thick skin.
    Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)

    One’s prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full.
    Muriel Spark (b. 1918)

    But, my dear, you cannot live in isolation from the human race, you know.
    John Clifford, U.S. screenwriter, and Herk Harvey. Minister (Stan Levitt)

    I put forward formless and unresolved notions, as do those who publish doubtful questions to debate in the schools, not to establish the truth but to seek it.
    Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)