The writer is a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London
本文作者是伦敦玛丽女王大学(Queen Mary University of London)政治学教授
Everyone my age can remember where they were on November 22 1990, when Margaret Thatcher announced she would resign. I was a student, beavering away on an essay, when someone stuck their head around the door and shouted, “She’s gone!” before running off to spread the news more widely. Five days later, John Major topped the ballot of Conservative MPs. He became prime minister the following day, November 28.
我这个年纪的人都记得1990年11月22日自己身在何处——玛格丽特•撒切尔(Margaret Thatcher)在那天宣布辞职。当时我还是个学生，正埋头写论文，突然有人把脑袋探进门来，大喊一声：“她下台了！”随即跑开，把这个消息传播给更多人。五天后，约翰•梅杰(John Major)在保守党议员的投票中胜出。次日（11月28日），他成为英国首相。
Six days. By the standards of 20th century Britain, that was relatively long. In the preceding 90 years, the median length of time it took to change prime ministers midterm — from the announcement of the resignation of the incumbent to the new prime minister kissing hands at Buckingham Palace — was a single day. We don’t traditionally do long transitions. A defining image of British electoral politics is the removal van, parked up in Downing Street the day after a general election, ready to cart off the defeated prime minister’s belongings.
六天。按20世纪英国的标准衡量，那算是一段相对较长的时间。在此前90年里，任期内更换首相——从原首相宣布辞职到新首相在白金汉宫觐见君主（即“吻手礼”仪式）——所需的中位数时间仅为一天。英国没有漫长权力交接的传统。英国选举政治的一个标志性画面是大选次日停在唐宁街的搬家卡车，准备运走落选首相的私人物品。