en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom
1 correction found
The term was regularly, if informally, used by Robert Walpole by the 1730s.
This reverses the historical relationship: the label 'prime minister' was used of Walpole, and Walpole himself explicitly denied he was the 'sole and prime minister.'
Full reasoning
The problem here is the phrase "used by Robert Walpole". Authoritative parliamentary sources describe the term prime minister as an informal, initially pejorative label that was applied to Walpole, not a title he himself was using.
A House of Commons Library briefing explains that the term was originally "one of abuse rather than a description of an official role" and that Walpole "took care to refute this," "unequivocally" denying to the House of Commons in 1741 that he was the "sole and prime minister." That directly contradicts the wording here, which says the term was used by Walpole.
Hansard also records that in the early 18th century the term was very unofficial and that "Sir Robert Walpole ... repudiated it."
So the historical point is not that Walpole was regularly using the term himself, but that the term was being used of him by others.
2 sources
- The office and functions of the Prime Minister (House of Commons Library)
The term 'Prime Minister' was originally one of abuse ... Sir Robert Walpole ... took care to refute this, 'unequivocally' denying to the House of Commons in 1741 that he was the 'sole and prime minister'.
- Presiding Officer debate, Hansard, 29 January 1998
In the early 18th century, it was a very unofficial term—in fact, it was regarded as odious, and Sir Robert Walpole and Lord North repudiated it.