Wednesday, October 26, 2022
A discovery of lecterns
If there is one thing the quick turnover of Prime Ministers has highlighted it is the government's apparently bottomless supply of lecterns. People have suddenly become aware of the number and variety of these speaking aids.
A tweet from one journalist yesterday suggested that the government maintains a collection of lecterns going back to the 18th century. He suggested that it is one of the responsibilities of the Deputy Chief Whip, one of whose title is Keeper of the Lecterns. He said that there are over 200 in the collection, and the Keeper is charged with keeping it up to date.
Others take a different view however. LBC news reports that over the years, different PMs have had different lecterns with varying designs. It is thought their lecterns cost a few thousand pounds and can take several weeks to make.
Rishi Sunak has not yet had his personalised lectern made because of the rapid turnover, so he had to make do with one of the generic ones held in stock yesterday. However, it is only a matter of time. Here is LBC's take on the lecterns chosen by other prime ministers:
Tony Blair
Tony Blair's lectern was the darkest and the largest out of any prime minister from the 21st century. At the top of the lectern was the government website, while his predecessors have opted for the government crest at the top.
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown's was arguably the first modern lectern. It was significantly smaller and lighter than Mr Blair's, with wheels often seen on office chairs at the bottom.
David Cameron
As seen in his resignation speech, Mr Cameron's lectern had a simple design. Wooden and light brown, the podium curves upwards - giving it a modern feel - with the government crest at the top. It was designed by Baroness Sugg, Mr Cameron's head of operations, and was meant to look "statesmanlike", the Telegraph reported.
Theresa May
Theresa May's lectern was significantly darker than Mr Cameron's. It was designed by her joint chief of staff and was designed to look 'feminine'.
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson's lectern was of a similar colour to Ms May's, although slightly darker. It was more traditional and designed to reflect Mr Johnson's energetic speeches.
Liz Truss
Liz Truss' lectern has drawn the most attention out of any other PM in recent memory, primarily due its spiral design. It also represented a return to a lighter and more curved design similar to Mr Cameron's.
It does seem to be a very expensive and unnecessary endeavour, but the one question that the article does not answer is whether the outgoing prime minister gets to keep their personalised lectern when they leave office.
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