Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture, Fisheries and Food – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 15 May 1980.
Mr Peter Walker
, Worcester
12:00,
15 May 1980
Yes, Sir. We have made it perfectly clear that we are in close consultation with the New Zealand Government on this matter. Tomorrow I shall discuss this issue in detail with the Deputy prime minister of New Zealand.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister is one that has only existed occasionally in the history of the United Kingdom. Unlike analogous offices in other nations, the Deputy Prime Minister does not have any of the powers of the Prime Minister in the latter's absence and there is no presumption that the Deputy Prime Minister will succeed the Prime Minister.
The post has existed intermittently and there have been a number of disputed occasions as to whether or not the title has actually been conferred.
More from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom
