10 Downing Street (home of the Prime Minister)
10 Downing Street is known worldwide, for being home to the Prime Minister (next door is where the Chancellor lives). The black door is in a building just off Whitehall (home of the government offices). Obviously you can’t visit for security reasons, but many people visit the railings to look through.
The area is also accessed by journalists, when Prime Ministers want to give press conferences. The black door actually used to be green, and is now made from steel and like a tardis, is much larger inside: three merged houses with a combined 100 rooms across four floors.
The last private resident was Mr Chicken (that really was his name!) who in the 1700s, was persuaded to give up his tenancy to move elsewhere, so future Prime Ministers could move in.
There has been controversy in recent years, over using taxpayer money to redecorate an already luxurious residence. There is a £30K annual public allowance, but even private redecorations (funded by donors or private money) has not gone down well – £80K to remove ‘tory blue’ in the last year, and Boris Johnson’s infamous £200K refurbishment (funded by a Tory donor), showing a complete lack of being in touch with public opinion.
A refurbishment in 2021 for the No.9 Downing Street media room (for televised briefings) cost over £2.6 million. No wonder people have lost faith in politics.
Of course, today the most beloved resident is Larry the cat, a stray adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in 2007, who has seen many Prime Ministers come and go.
Of course as a senior cat, he’s not the ‘chief mouser’ that people often credit him with. He spends most of his time napping! There are reports that possibly due to his previous life, he is nervous around men: however he apparently took to Barack Obama on a state visit.
Ipsos polls show that Larry is more popular than his Prime Minister co-residents! Freya the cat at No.11 Downing Street kept wandering off. So for her safety, she was adopted to a home in the Kent Countryside.
