What Is Prime Minister's Questions?

Prime Minister's Questions, or PMQs for short, is a weekly half-hour long slot when the Prime Minister has to answer questions on a wide range of issues by other members of parliament from the dispatch box in the House of Commons. It happens on Wednesdays at 12 Noon during the parliamentary session. The media usually places this event at the top of the agenda. Before the premiership of Tony Blair, PMQs was conducted in two fifteen-minute sessions. Both the leader of the opposition and the leader of the third party have a certain amount of questions they can ask. Other, backbench MPs only have the opportunity to ask one question unless they ask for a written question to be answered, in which case they can ask a supplementary. For written and oral answers, the Prime Minister is well prepared by a briefing by civil servants. However, they can get challenged and caught out by supplementary questions, which they are not prepared for. Prime Ministers can revel in the opportunity to enthuse supporters and ridicule opponents, but PMQs can be fraught with danger.