Prime Minister of the United Kingdom seats than the opposition in a general election. Since 1722, most Prime Ministers have been members of the Commons; since 1902, all have had a seat there. Like other members, they are elected initially to represent only a constituency. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, for example, represented Sedgefield in County Durham from 1983 to 2007. He became Prime Minister because in 1994 he was elected Labour Party leader and then led the party to victory in the 1997 general election, winning 418 seats compared to 165 for the Conservatives and gaining a majority in the House of Commons. Neither the
Premiership of Tony Blair a £4,000,000 deal, in exchange his personal diaries, with a publishing firm owned by Rupert Murdoch. On 5 September 2006, a letter signed by 17 Labour MPs called for Tony Blair to resign. On the same day, 49 other Labour MPs signed a statement supporting Blair's departure timetable. The next day "The Sun" reported that Blair would step down as Leader of the Labour Party on 31 May 2007, and as Prime Minister when a new leader is elected. That same day, seven of the MPs who signed the letter resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretaries (unpaid and unofficial posts assisting