|
The Queen attended Sir
Winston's farewell dinner at Number 10. |
1955: Sir Winston Churchill
resigns |
England have
Sir Winston Churchill has resigned as prime minister of Britain due to
his failing health.
The news was announced in a statement from
Buckingham Palace this afternoon.
It said: "The Right Honorable Sir Winston Churchill had an audience
with the Queen this evening and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister
and First Lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased
to accept."
Sir Winston Churchill's resignation follows a dinner party held at 10
Downing Street last night attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
and a number of the prime minister's past and present government
colleagues.
Tributes to the 81-year-old premier, who will be replaced by Sir
Anthony Eden tomorrow, have poured in from around the world.
'Blood, toil, tears and sweat'
Sir Winston Churchill's political career began in 1900 as Conservative
MP for Oldham but in 1906, disillusioned with his party, he defected to
the Liberal party.
He first became prime minister, as a Conservative again, in 1940 and
led the wartime Coalition Government during World War II.
During this time he inspired courage throughout the entire British
nation even though he had promised nothing more than "blood, toil, tears
and sweat."
After the war the Coalition Government broke up and Winston Churchill
resigned the office of prime minister on 23 May 1945.
He was immediately asked by the King to form a new government and his
second tenure as prime minister, this time of a caretaker government,
began.
But Churchill, although regarded as a superb wartime leader, was
regarded less favourably in peacetime and in the general election which
followed in July 1945 he was heavily defeated.
A Labour government, led by Clement Attlee, took the reigns of power
until 1951 when Winston Churchill once again became prime minister at the
age of 77.
In 1953 he was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter in recognition
of his services to his country.
Sir Winston will continue to sit in the House of Commons as member for
Woodford.