The office of Prime Minister was not created by law but by practice. For centuries the king governed with his advisers; after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 Parliament gained growing weight, and with the arrival of the Hanoverian kings, who took little interest in English politics, the most influential minister became in effect head of government. The first to be regarded as such is Robert Walpole, First Lord of the Treasury from 1721 to 1742. The term "prime minister" began as an almost disparaging expression and appeared in an official document only in 1878; even today the formal office is First Lord of the Treasury, as the plate on the door of 10 Downing Street, the official residence since 1735, reminds us.
Curiosities
- William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister at 24, in 1783: the youngest ever.
- Spencer Perceval is the only Prime Minister to have been assassinated, shot in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812.
- Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to lead the government (1979-1990); Theresa May and Liz Truss followed her.
- Liz Truss, in 2022, had the shortest term, just 49 days.
- Rishi Sunak, in 2022, became the first Prime Minister of Indian heritage and the first Hindu in the post.
- From 2016 to 2026 seven prime ministers followed one another: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham, a sign of great political instability after the Brexit referendum.
The longest-serving prime ministers
The complete list of prime ministers
- 1721-1742: Robert Walpole (Whig)
- 1742-1743: Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington (Whig)
- 1743-1754: Henry Pelham (Whig)
- 1754-1756: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (Whig)
- 1756-1757: William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire (Whig)
- 1757-1762: Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle (2nd time) (Whig)
- 1762-1763: John Stuart, Earl of Bute (Tory)
- 1763-1765: George Grenville (Whig)
- 1765-1766: Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham (Whig)
- 1766-1768: William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham (Whig)
- 1768-1770: Augustus FitzRoy, Duke of Grafton (Whig)
- 1770-1782: Frederick North, Lord North (Tory)
- 1782: Marquess of Rockingham (2nd time) (Whig)
- 1782-1783: William Petty, Earl of Shelburne (Whig)
- 1783: William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland (Whig)
- 1783-1801: William Pitt the Younger (Tory)
- 1801-1804: Henry Addington (Tory)
- 1804-1806: William Pitt the Younger (2nd time) (Tory)
- 1806-1807: William Grenville, Baron Grenville (Whig)
- 1807-1809: Duke of Portland (2nd time) (Tory)
- 1809-1812: Spencer Perceval (Tory)
- 1812-1827: Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool (Tory)
- 1827: George Canning (Tory)
- 1827-1828: Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich (Tory)
- 1828-1830: Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (Tory)
- 1830-1834: Charles Grey, Earl Grey (Whig)
- 1834: William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne (Whig)
- 1834: Duke of Wellington (2nd time) (Tory)
- 1834-1835: Robert Peel (Conservative)
- 1835-1841: Viscount Melbourne (2nd time) (Whig)
- 1841-1846: Robert Peel (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1846-1852: John Russell (Whig)
- 1852: Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby (Conservative)
- 1852-1855: George Hamilton-Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (Peelite)
- 1855-1858: Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston (Liberal)
- 1858-1859: Earl of Derby (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1859-1865: Viscount Palmerston (2nd time) (Liberal)
- 1865-1866: John Russell (2nd time) (Liberal)
- 1866-1868: Earl of Derby (3rd time) (Conservative)
- 1868: Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative)
- 1868-1874: William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal)
- 1874-1880: Benjamin Disraeli (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1880-1885: William Ewart Gladstone (2nd time) (Liberal)
- 1885-1886: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative)
- 1886: William Ewart Gladstone (3rd time) (Liberal)
- 1886-1892: Marquess of Salisbury (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1892-1894: William Ewart Gladstone (4th time) (Liberal)
- 1894-1895: Archibald Primrose, Earl of Rosebery (Liberal)
- 1895-1902: Marquess of Salisbury (3rd time) (Conservative)
- 1902-1905: Arthur Balfour (Conservative)
- 1905-1908: Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal)
- 1908-1916: Herbert Henry Asquith (Liberal)
- 1916-1922: David Lloyd George (Liberal)
- 1922-1923: Andrew Bonar Law (Conservative)
- 1923-1924: Stanley Baldwin (Conservative)
- 1924: Ramsay MacDonald (Labour)
- 1924-1929: Stanley Baldwin (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1929-1935: Ramsay MacDonald (2nd time) (Labour)
- 1935-1937: Stanley Baldwin (3rd time) (Conservative)
- 1937-1940: Neville Chamberlain (Conservative)
- 1940-1945: Winston Churchill (Conservative)
- 1945-1951: Clement Attlee (Labour)
- 1951-1955: Winston Churchill (2nd time) (Conservative)
- 1955-1957: Anthony Eden (Conservative)
- 1957-1963: Harold Macmillan (Conservative)
- 1963-1964: Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative)
- 1964-1970: Harold Wilson (Labour)
- 1970-1974: Edward Heath (Conservative)
- 1974-1976: Harold Wilson (2nd time) (Labour)
- 1976-1979: James Callaghan (Labour)
- 1979-1990: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
- 1990-1997: John Major (Conservative)
- 1997-2007: Tony Blair (Labour)
- 2007-2010: Gordon Brown (Labour)
- 2010-2016: David Cameron (Conservative)
- 2016-2019: Theresa May (Conservative)
- 2019-2022: Boris Johnson (Conservative)
- 2022: Liz Truss (Conservative)
- 2022-2024: Rishi Sunak (Conservative)
- 2024-2026: Keir Starmer (Labour)
- since 2026: Andy Burnham (Labour)
Whigs and Tories were the two great parliamentary factions of the 18th and early 19th centuries, from which the Liberal and Conservative parties respectively emerged. See also Parliament and government and the British monarchy.