Royal endorsement of Nick Clegg as DPM is constitutional first

Something constitutionally remarkable happened last night: Her Majesty the Queen seemingly appointed a Deputy Prime Minister, something that has never before happened in the UK. In July 1962 Liz was asked by PM Harold Macmillan to recognise Rab Butler as his deputy and she refused, on the basis that the sovereign would not wish to prejudice the selection of his successor.

This constitutionally-erroneous minister has been the subject of numerous debates over the previous 50 years. In the 1970s Labour governed with two deputies: Labour deputy leader (and drinker) George Brown and “First Secretary of State” Barbara Castle.

Margaret Thatcher’s close shave at the seaside in 1984 raised questions around temporary succession of power in the event of the death or incapacity of the Prime Minister and whether or not a peer (Willie Viscount Whitelaw was her deputy) could realistically serve as PM, even if only temporarily. Yet for all the panic, following the resignation of Geoffrey Howe and fall of Thatcher in 1990 John Major managed to cope until 1995 without a deputy.

Prescott was fairly unique in being the elected deputy leader of the governing party who was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister – and was endowed with a super-department to boot. But his party successor Harriet Harman wasn’t to be so fortunate, given a plethora of titles none of which was DPM. Indeed, Lord Mandelson’s subsequent appointment as First Secretary of State cast him as a combination of Barbara Castle and Willie Whitelaw. You can draw your own conclusions as to which comparison he’d prefer! In any case it has never been certain what would have happened had Brown, in the words of many hacks, “had that massive coronary he was heading for”.

So now that Cleggover is regally appointed Deputy Prime Minister, does this actually mean anything? In short, no. Jim Wallace was acting First Minister of Scotland three times but no one ever expected he would permanently hold the post. He may well spin the role of DPM as being the second most senior man in government, but unless he secures a substantial policy brief it really will be little more than a token gesture.