UK Prime Ministers Timeline 1721-Present

As the leader of the government, Walpole was Britain’s first Prime Minister. He was successful in the elections of 1722, 1727, 1734 and 1741. In 1735 he moved to 10 Downing Street which has been the home of the incumbent Prime Minister of the UK ever since. In 1742 Walpole resigned amid criticism of his leadership and retired to the House of Lords.

Took over after the resignation of Robert Walpole. Died while in office.

Took over after the death of Spencer Compton. Won the 1747 election. Died in office.

Took over after the death of his brother Henry Pelham. Won the 1754 election but was replaced because of his poor performance during the Seven Years War.

Became head of a caretaker government during the Seven Years War. Became unpopular after executing Admiral Byng and was dismissed by George II.

Returned as Prime Minister to replace the caretaker government of William Cavendish. He won 1761 election but was forced to resign the following year by King George III.

Became Prime Minister after the George III forced Thomas Pelham Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle to resign. However John Stuart lost the King’s support and resigned in 1763.

Became Prime Minister after the Earl of Bute resigned. Introduced the unpopular Stamp Act in the United States to help recover lost finances following the Seven Years’ War. Was dismissed by the King after two years in office for failing to make alliances with any other countries.

Became Prime Minister after Grenville was dismissed by the King but was not popular. The government fell in July 1766 due to its poor foreign policy.

Became Prime Minister after Rockingham’s government fell. Resigned in 1768 due to ill health.

Became Prime Minister following the resignation of William Pitt the Elder due to ill health. Aged 33 years, he was the youngest Prime Minister up to that date. He resigned in January 1770 following criticism of the government’s foreign policy.

Became Prime Minister following the resignation of Grafton. Won the 1774 and 1780 elections and was leader of Britain during the American War of Independence. He resigned after the British were defeated by the United States of America.

Became head of the government after Lord North resigned. He died of influenza on 4th July 1782.

Took over as head of the government after the death of Rockingham. His government fell amid criticism that the Paris Peace Settlement which ended the American War of Independence was too generous to America.

Became head of a coalition government after Shelburne’s government fell. His government lasted for eight months before it fell after losing a move to reform the East India Company.

Son of William Pitt the Elder, he became UK Prime Minister when Portland’s coalition government fell. Aged 24 years he still holds the record as the youngest Prime Minister. He was a strong administrator and led Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. Pitt won the 1784, 1790 and 1796 elections but resigned in 1801 when he came into conflict with the King over Catholic Emancipation.

Took over as Prime Minister following the resignation of Pitt over Catholic Emancipation. He won the 1802 election but lost popularity after concluding an unsatisfactory settlement to the War of the Second Coalition. He was forced to resign.

Returned as head of the government over following the resignation of Addington. Died while in office.

Grenville was the son of former Prime Minister, George Grenville. He won the 1806 election which was held following the death of William Pitt. He saw an end to slavery in the UK but failed to secure either  Catholic emancipation or an end to the war with France. His failures saw his government fall.

Took over as party leader when Grenville’s Whig led coalition fell. He won the 1807 election but with a very small majority. He resigned in 1809 due to ill health.

Took over as leader of the Tory party after Portland’s resignation. Although he was an adept leader, his government was weak. He had to contend with the crisis caused by the madness of King George III as well as the ongoing Napoleonic Wars. By 1912 his position was much stronger. On 11th May 1812, he was assassinated by John Bellingham, a merchant who had a grievance with his administration.

Took over as leader of the Tories after Spencer Perceval was assassinated. Won the 1812, 1818, 1820 and 1826 elections. He was leader through the 1812 war with the United States, the end of the Napoleonic wars, the passing of the Corn Laws, the Peterloo Massacre and the ongoing issue of Catholic Emancipation. He was forced to resign after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage.

Took over as head of government after Liverpool suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. Canning’s health was poor and he died after 119 days in office, the shortest term to date for a Prime Minister.

Took over as head of government after George Canning died but was unable to hold the government together and resigned after five months.

Became UK Prime Minister after Goderich resigned. He managed to get the Catholic Relief Act passed, which allowed Catholics to take their seats in the Houses of Parliament. He won the 1830 election but did not have a clear majority and was unable to form a government.

Despite losing the 1830 election became Prime Minister as only person able to form a government. Won the 1831 election with a clear majority and after the introduction of the Reform Bill the Whigs increased that majority in the 1832 election. He resigned in 1834 after disagreements in the government regarding Ireland.

Although he was disliked by King William IV, he was appointed Prime Minister after Earl Grey resigned. After four months in office the King dismissed the government.

Caretaker Prime Minister for Robert Peel who was in Italy when the Tories unexpectedly came to power following the dismissal of Melbourne’s Whig government by the King.

Took over from Caretaker Prime Minister, Wellington. He issued the Tamworth Manifesto which set our the foundations of the Conservative Party. He lost the 1835 election.

Melbourne returned as Prime minister after winning the 1835 election with a clear majority. He won the 1837 election but did not have a majority so formed a minority government. Melbourne acted as a mentor for the young Queen Victoria who became Queen in 1837. In 1839 the First Opium War with China and the First Anglo-Afghan War broke out. The Treaty of Waitangi established a British governor in New Zealand. Melbourne lost the 1841 election to the Conservatives.

The Conservatives won the 1841 election and Robert Peel returned as Prime Minister. He instigated a number of reforms including the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the Factories Act 1844 and the Railway regulation Act 1844. The beginning of the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 prompted Peel to support repeal of the Corn Laws. He resigned after being defeated on the issue.

Took over when Peel’s government collapsed over the Corn Laws. He won the 1847 election but found himself frequently at loggerheads with the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston. Eventually Palmerston resigned but soon afterwards Russell’s government fell.

Won the 1852 election but did not have a majority. The government collapsed when the Chancellor’s budget was vetoed by the House of Commons.

Took over when Lord Derby’s government collapsed. He took Britain into the Crimean War but resigned after an investigation into the management of the war, particularly the heavy losses incurred by the ill-advised Charge of the Light Brigade.

Took over when Lord Aberdeen resigned. The Crimean War ended with the Peace of Paris in 1856. He won the 1857 election but did not have a majority and his government collapsed in 1858.

Took over when Palmerston’s minority Whig government collapsed. The East India Company was dissolved and India became subject to British rule. Derby lost the 1859 election.

Won 1859 General election as leader of the newly formed Liberal Party. He introduced the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Companies Act 1862 . Palmerston won the 1865 general election but died three months later.

Took over as leader of the Liberal government when Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston died in office. He was unable to hold his party together and the government collapsed.

Took over as leader of a Conservative government when John Russell’s Liberal government collapsed. The Reform Bill 1867 was passed which gave more people the vote. He resigned due to ill health in 1868.

Took over as leader of the Conservative government when Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby resigned due to ill health. He lost the 1868 election.

Won the 1868 General Election. He put in place reforms to the British army and local councils. He restructured the courts and passed the Education Act. Gladstone called an election in 1874. Despite winning 189,000 more votes than the Conservatives, the Liberals gained less seats and lost the election.

Disraeli won the 1874 General Election gaining more seats than the Liberals. He was created Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876 and became a member of the House of Lords. Despite declining health he remained Prime Minister until the 1880 election.

The Liberals won the 1880 General Election. He passed the 1884 Reform Bill which further extended the franchise. Gladstone advocated the acquisition of territories in Africa, a move which led to the First Boer War , the conquest of Egypt and war in Sudan where the siege of Khartoum saw the deaths of thousands when British troops failed to be deployed in timely fashion. Gladstone resigned in 1885 amid criticism of his foreign policy.

Salisbury’s Conservatives won the 1885 election but did not have a majority. His government was brought down after Gladstone formed an alliance with the Irish Parliamentary party and brought the government down.

The introduction of the Home Rule Bill split the Liberals and forced another election.

Salisbury formed government after the 1886 general election. The Conservatives did not have a majority and were reliant on the support of the Liberal Unionists. They lost the 1892 election on the issue of Home Rule for Ireland.

Gladstone won 1892 election and became head of a minority Liberal government, having gained their support when Gladstone declared his support for Home Rule. However, the Home Rule Bill was rejected and Gladstone decided to retire.

Took over as leader of the Liberals following the retirement of Gladstone. He resigned after losing a vote on army supply.

Became Prime Minister after winning the 1895 election. The later years of the nineteenth century were taken up with conflict. Tensions with France and Germany were settled but war broke out in South Africa in 1899. Salisbury won the 1900 election Served for two terms following victory at the 1895 and 1900 elections. In 1902 with failing health, he resigned in favour of his nephew Arthur Balfour.

Took over as leader of the Conservative Party after his uncle the Marquis of Salisbury resigned. He passed the Irish Land Act and modernised education with a new Education Act. Balfour resigned in December 1905  in the face of opposition. He hoped that the Liberals would be unable to form a new government.

Campbell-Bannerman managed to form a minority government after Balfour’s resignation. He then won the 1906 election. He managed to put in place some reforms before he was forced to resign due to ill health in April 1908. He died shortly afterwards

Became leader of the Liberals and Prime Minister after Campbell-Bannerman resigned due to ill health. Two elections held in 1910 resulted in hung parliaments but Asquith retained his position as Prime Minister. World War One broke out in 1914 and Asquith oversaw the early stages but without a majority was forced to form a coalition to government due to the ongoing war.

Asquith continued in position as a new wartime coalition was formed for the duration of World War. One. Asquith faced opposition to his premiership from David Lloyd George and the coalition collapsed.

Became leader of World War One Wartime coalition government after Asquith’s coalition government collapsed. He passed the universal suffrage act increasing the electorate.

Lloyd George won the first election held following the passing of the universal suffrage act. He played a major role in the Paris Peace Conference which decided punishments for Germany and her allies following World War One. He also negotiated the partition of Ireland which led to the formation of an independent Irish Free State while Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. Lloyd George resigned after there was division in his party.

Won the 1922 election but resigned after less than a year in office due to ill health.

Became leader of the Conservative Party after Bonar Law resigned due to ill health. He called a general election in December 1923 over the issue of tariffs.

Although Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative Party won the election held on December 6th 1923 they did not have a majority. Ramsay MacDonald, leader of the Labour Party, gained the backing of the Liberal party and formed the first Labour government on 22nd January 1924. However, moves to lend money to the Soviet Union and an article by the Socialist Worker’s Weekly suggesting servicemen mutiny led to the fall of the government.

Stanley Baldwin returned as Prime Minister after winning the election. He introduced a programme of house building, reformed local government and increased old age pensions. His government survived the 1926 general strike but failed to secure a majority in the 1929 election.

MacDonald became Prime Minister for the second time but he did not have a majority. He was faced with rising unemployment and an economic crisis he decided to form a coalition government.

MacDonald had decided to form a National coalition government to deal with the economic crisis caused by the stock market crash in 1929. However, his decision to form a coalition lost him the support of his party and he resigned in 1935.

Took over as head of the coalition after MacDonald resigned. He oversaw the abdication crisis caused by King Edward VIII’s wish to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He also had to deal with the rise of Nazi Germany and was later criticised for a weak response. He made the decision to retire in 1937.

Became leader of the Conservative Party following the retirement of Stanley Baldwin. He followed a policy of appeasement in response to the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. He declared war on Germany in September 1939 after Hitler invaded Poland. He resigned in May 1940 after the British failed to relieve Norway.

Winston Churchill took over as leader of the Conservative led war coalition government after Chamberlain resigned. He remained in position throughout the Second World War and is notorious for his morale-boosting speeches and broadcasts.

At the end of the Second World War, the war coalition became a caretaker coalition. It remained in place for two months until elections were held.

This was a shock election victory for the Labour Party. It had been expected that Churchill would have won easily. Attlee introduced social reforms including the National Health Service and nationalised public utilities. He also oversaw the independence of India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and Jordan. Despite the sweeping reforms put in place, the Labour Party lost the 1951 election.

Became UK Prime Minister for the third time at the age of 76 yrs. His health was increasingly poor and he often dealt with government business from his bedside. He remained in office until his poor health forced him to resign.

Took over as leader of the Conservative Party after Churchill resigned. He called a general election and returned with an increased majority. He resigned in January 1957 amid criticism of his handling of the Suez crisis.

Became leader of the Conservative Party when Anthony Eden resigned. He won the 1959 election with an increased majority. He developed a good relationship with the USA and wanted Britain to become a part of the European Economic Community. However, Charles de Gaulle of France refused to allow Britain to join. MacMillan resigned in 1963 after a string of scandals including the Profumo affair.

Became leader of the Conservative Party in October 1963 when Harold MacMillan resigned and gave up his peerage to become Prime Minister. The sale of buses to Cuba led to a deterioration in the relationship with America. The Conservatives lost the 1964 election.

Harold Wilson became Prime Minister after Labour won the election with a small majority. He wanted to modernise society and legalised homosexuality, made divorce and abortions easier to obtain and abolished capital punishment. His government also founded the Open University allowing people to earn a degree while working. Wilson refused American requests to join the Vietnam War. Wilson lost the 1970 election.

The Conservatives won the 1970 election amid a rise in the power of Trade Unions. Having promised people a change in their fortunes he was unable to deliver when a series of strikes led to power cuts and a three day week. The February 1974 election resulted in a hung parliament and Heath resigned.

Harold Wilson became Prime Minister of minority government after Edward Heath resigned office. He called another election in October 1974 which gave Labour Party a small majority. Wilson focused on social reform and price control. To pay for the reforms the top rate of income tax was increased to 83%. In 1975 a referendum decided that the UK would join the European Economic Community. In 1976 Wilson shocked the country by announcing his retirement.

Callaghan took over after Harold Wilson resigned from office. He inherited rising inflation and rising unemployment. A vote of no confidence followed what has become known as the ‘winter of discontent’ and a new election followed.

Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives won the election and she became the UK’s first female Prime Minister. At the beginning of her premiership the economy was in a poor state but slowly began to recover. British success in the Falklands war increased her popularity and she won the 1983 election with a clear majority. The next two years were dominated by the unrest caused by the year-long miner’s strike led by Arthur Scargill. The Conservatives sought to weaken the unions by privatising public utilities and curbing the power of the unions. Although seats were lost in the 1987 election, the Conservatives still had a good majority in the House.  However, there were divisions within the party over her leadership. After a leadership challenge Thatcher was replaced by John Major.

Became UK Prime Minister after successfully challenging Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party. He began healing the divisions in his party. He also committed British troops to the Gulf War. An election was called for 1992 which the Conservatives won. Members of his own party became critical of his leadership believing that the Maastricht Treaty on Europe did not get the best deal for Britain. He began laying the foundations for peace in Northern Ireland before losing the 1997 election.

Tony Blair was a personable and charismatic leader of the Labour Party who, aged 33 years, became Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister. He approved devolved parliaments for Scotland and Wales and introduced the Human Rights Act. Blair successfully concluded the Good Friday Agreement which brought peace to Northern Ireland. He won the 2001 election with a clear majority. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, Blair joined forces with the United States and other nations in the War Against Terror, committing troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. The 2005 election saw Blair returned for a third term as Prime Minister. He resigned in 2007 in favour of his close friend and chancellor, Gordon Brown.

Gordon Brown became UK Prime Minister following resignation of Tony Blair. He approved a devolved assembly for Northern Ireland, withdrew British troops from Iraq and introduced a Climate Change Bill. The global economic crisis of 2008 caused the economy to falter. Although the 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament, the Liberal Democrats agreed to go into coalition with the Conservatives and Labour became the opposition party.

David Cameron was forced to form a Coalition with the Liberal Democrats because the Conservatives had no clear majority following the 2010 General Election. His party inherited an empty treasury following the economic crisis of 2008. Cameron was a champion of environment issues and social reform. He brought in a national minimum wage and saw the UK host a successful Olympic Games in 2012. His approval of same-sex marriage brought him into conflict with right-wing members of the party. The issue of Scottish independence took up much of 2014 while growing euro-scepticism within his party forced him to promise an in-out referendum on Europe if the Conservatives won the 2015 election.

David Cameron won a majority at the General Election and held a referendum on Europe the following year. Having championed Britain remaining in the European Union he resigned on 24th June 2016 after a majority voted to leave the EU.

Britain’s second female Prime Minister took over after David Cameron resigned. She called a snap election in April 2017 which was held on 8th June. Although the Conservatives gained the most seats they did not have a majority. Theresa May made an agreement with the DUP (Democratic Union Party) of Northern Ireland to form a minority government. She tried, unsuccessfully to deliver Brexit but resigned when her deal did not have the support of her party.

Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservative Party and took over from Theresa May. Vowed to take the UK out of the EU on 31st October with or without a deal. Controversially prorogued parliament for 5 weeks on 9th September 2019, a move which was overturned by the High Court. Won a clear majority in the December 2019 election and took the UK out of the EU on 31st January 2020. Remained in office throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Was found guilty of breaking lockdown restrictions and also tainted by numerous scandals. Was forced to resign by his party.

Elected leader of the Conservative Party after Boris Johnson resigned and became Prime Minister. On 23rd September 2022 measures were introduced to drastically cut taxation. This caused the pound to fall drastically. After several U-turns and the dismissal of the Chancellor, Liz Truss resigned on 20th October. She had been in office for 45 days.

Became leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the UK after challengers Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew.