Civilisation/List of British Prime Ministers
From Quiz Revision Notes
| British Prime Ministers | ||||||||||
| Name | Date of Birth | Date of Death | Party Affiliation | Time in office | General Elections held | Constituency when in office | Selected major events during time in office | Monarch(s) | Spouse | Misc. |
| Robert Walpole | 26 Aug 1676 | 18 Mar 1745 | Whig | 1721 -1742 | 1722 / 1727 / 1734 / 1741 | King's Lynn (1713-1742) | Recovery from South Sea Bubble financial crisis / War of Austrian Succession begins (1740-1748) | George I / George II | Catherine (née Shorter) d 1737 /
Maria (née Skerret) d 1738 |
Longest serving PM (20 years 314 days) |
| Spencer Compton (1st Earl of Wilmington) | c1673 | 2 Jul 1743 | Whig | 1742 - 1743 (1 year 136 days) | House of Lords | George II | Died in office | |||
| Henry Pelham | 23 Sep 1694 | 6 Mar 1754 | Whig | 1743 - 1754 | 1747 | Sussex (1727-1754) | Jacobite Rebellion (1745/1746) / Gregorian calendar adopted (1752) | George II | (Lady) Katherine (née Manners) | Known as the Broad Bottom Ministry / Died in office |
| Thomas Pelham-Holles (Duke of Newcastle) | 21 Jul 1693 | 17 Nov 1768 | Whig | 1754 - 1756 | 1754 | House of Lords | Seven Years' War begins (1756-1763) | George II | (Lady) Henrietta (née Godolphin) | Henry & Thomas Pelham are the only brothers to both serve as PM |
| William Cavendish (Duke of Devonshire | 8 May 1720 | 2 Oct 1764 | Whig | 1756 - 1757 | House of Lords | George II | Charlotte (née Boyle - Baroness Clifford) | |||
| Thomas Pelham-Holles (Duke of Newcastle) | 21 Jul 1693 | 17 Nov 1768 | Whig | 1757 - 1762 | 1761 | House of Lords | George II / George III | (Lady) Henrietta (née Godolphin) | ||
| John Stuart (Earl of Bute) | 25 May 1713 | 10 Mar 1762 | Tory | 1762 - 1763 (317 days) | House of Lords | Treaty of Paris ends Seven Years' War (1763) | George III | Mary (née Montagu) | 1st PM born in Scotland | |
| George Grenville | 14 Oct 1712 | 13 Nov 1770 | Whig | 1763 - 1765 | Buckingham (1741-1770) | Stamp Act (1765) sparks unrest in the colonies ("No taxation without representation") | George III | Elizabeth (née Wyndham) | ||
| Charles Watson-Wentworth (Marquess of Rockingham) | 13 May 1730 | 1 Jul 1782 | Whig | 1765 - 1766 | House of Lords | Stamp Act repealed (1766) | George III | Mary (née Bright) | ||
| William Pitt the Elder (Earl of Chatham) | 15 Nov 1708 | 11 May 1778 | Whig | 1766 - 1768 | 1768 | Bath (1757–1766) Accepted title in 1766 - House of Lords | Townshend Acts (1767-1768) - series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. | George III | Hester (née Grenville) | The Great Commoner' |
| Augustus Henry Fitzroy (Duke of Grafton | 28 Sep 1735 | 14 Mar 1811 | Whig | 1768 - 1770 | House of Lords | Corsican crisis (1768-69) | George III | Anne (née Liddell) (div. 1769)
Elizabeth (née Wrottesley) (m. 1769) |
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| Frederick North (Lord North) | 13 Apr 1732 | 5 Aug 1792 | Tory | 1770 - 1782 | 1774 / 1780 | Banbury (1754-1790) | Boston Massacre (1770) / Tea Act sparks Boston Tea Party (1773) / American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) | George III | ||
| Charles Watson-Wentworth (Marquess of Rockingham) | 13 May 1730 | 1 Jul 1782 | Whig | 1782 | House of Lords | Relief of the Poor Act (1782) | George III | Mary (née Bright) | Died in office | |
| William Petty (Earl of Shelburne) | 2 May 1737 | 7 May 1805 | Whig | 1782 - 1783 | House of Lords | Resigns after his terms for Treaty of Paris rejected | George III | Sophia (née Carteret) (d. 1771)
Louisa (née FitzPatrick) (m. 1779) |
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| William Cavendish-Bentinck (Duke of Portland) | 14 Apr 1738 | 30 Oct 1809 | Whig | 1783 | House of Lords | Treaty of Paris ends American War of Independence (Sep 1783) | George III | Dorothy (née Lady Dorothy Cavendish - dau of William Cavendish (PM) | Fox–North coalition of Whigs & Tories / owner of Portland Vase | |
| William Pitt the Younger | 28 May 1759 | 23 Jan 1806 | Tory | 1783 - 1801 | 1784 / 1790 / 1796 | Appleby (1781-1784) / Cambridge University (1784-1806) | Regency Bill (1789) proposed but King recovers / French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (Battle of the Nile 1797) | George III | Son of William Pitt the Elder / 1st PM of United Kingdom from 1801 / 'The Incorruptible' | |
| Henry Addington (Lord Sidmouth) | 30 May 1757 | 15 Feb 1844 | Tory | 1801 - 1804 | 1802 | Devizes (1784-1805) | Treaty of Amiens (1802) brief pause in Napoleonic Wars | George III | Ursula (née Hammond) | |
| William Pitt the Younger | 28 May 1759 | 23 Jan 1806 | Tory | 1804 - 1806 | Cambridge University (1784-1806) | Battle of Trafalgar (1805) | George III | Died in office | ||
| William Grenville (Baron Grenville) | 24 Oct 1759 | 12 Jan 1834 | Whig | 1806 - 1807 | 1806 | House of Lords | Slave Trade Act (1807) made the slave trade illegal throughout the British Empire | George III | Anne (née Pitt) grand-neice of William Pitt the Elder | "Ministry of All the Talents" |
| William Cavendish-Bentinck (Duke of Portland) | 14 Apr 1738 | 30 Oct 1809 | Tory | 1807 - 1809 | 1807 | House of Lords | George III | Dorothy (née Lady Dorothy Cavendish) | Cabinet members Canning and Castlereagh fight duel (1809) / longest gap between his 2 terms in office as PM (24 years) | |
| Spencer Perceval | 1 Nov 1762 | 11 May 1812 | Tory | 1809 - 1812 | Northampton (1796-1812) | Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act (1811) - in effect a Regency Act | George III | Jane (née Wilson) | Shot dead by John Bellingham in House of Commons. Only PM to be assassinated. | |
| Robert Jenkinson (Earl of Liverpool) | 7 Jun 1770 | 4 Dec 1828 | Tory | 1812 - 1827 | 1812 / 1818 / 1820 / 1826 | House of Lords | War of 1812 (1812-1815) / Battle of Waterloo and End of Napoleonic Wars (1815) / Congress of Vienna (1814-15) / Corn Laws (1815) / Peterloo Massacre (1819) | George III / George IV | Louisa (née Hervey) (d.1821)
Mary (née Chester) (m. 1822) |
Most recent PM to win 4 General Elections |
| George Canning | 11 Apr 1770 | 8 Aug 1827 | Tory | 1827 (119 days) | Seaford (1827) | Failed in attempt to repeal Corn Laws | George IV | Joan (née Scott) | Died in office - shortest term as PM until Liz Truss | |
| Frederick Robinson (Viscount Goderich) | 30 Oct 1782 | 28 Jan 1859 | Tory | 1827 - 1828 (144 days) | House of Lords | George IV | Sarah (née Hobart) | Never met in session in Parliament | ||
| Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) | c1 May 1769 | 14 Sep 1852 | Tory | 1828 - 1830 | 1830 | House of Lords | Catholic Relief Act (aka Catholic Emancipation Act) (1829) | William IV | Catherine (née Pakenham) | |
| Charles Grey | 13 Mar 1764 | 17 Jul 1845 | Whig | 1830 - 1834 | 1831 / 1832 | House of Lords | Reform Act (1832) / Slavery Abolition Act (1833) abolished slavery in most of the British Empire - compensation paid to slave-owners. | William IV | Mary (née Ponsonby) | |
| William Lamb (Viscount Melbourne) | 15 Mar 1779 | 24 Nov 1848 | Whig | 1834 | House of Lords | William IV | Lady Caroline (née Ponsonby) d. 1828 - had an affair with Lord Byron in 1812 | |||
| Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) | c1 May 1769 | 14 Sep 1852 | Tory | 1834 (22 days as caretaker PM) | House of Lords | William IV | Catherine (née Pakenham) | Caretaker PM awaiting Peel's return from Sardinia | ||
| Sir Robert Peel | 5 Feb 1788 | 2 Jul 1850 | Tory / Conservative | 1834 - 1835 | Tamworth (1830-1850) | Tamworth Manifesto (1834) - outlined objectives for a British Conservative Party | William IV | Julia (née Floyd) | ||
| William Lamb (Viscount Melbourne) | 15 Mar 1779 | 24 Nov 1848 | Whig | 1835 - 1841 | 1835 / 1837 | House of Lords | Municipal Reform Act (1835) / Dissenters' Marriage Bill (1836) - legalised civil marriage outside of the Church | William IV / Victoria | Lady Caroline (née Ponsonby) | |
| Sir Robert Peel | 5 Feb 1788 | 2 Jul 1850 | Conservative | 1841 - 1846 | 1841 | Tamworth (1830-1850) | Factory Act (1844) - improved working conditions for women and children / Importation Act (1846) effectively repealed the Corn Laws but on same day it passed Peel resigned after failure of Irish Coercion Bill intended to ameliorate situation resulting from Irish famine. | Victoria | Julia (née Floyd) | |
| John Russell (Earl Russell) | 18 Aug 1792 | 28 May 1878 | Whig | 1846 - 1852 | 1847 | City of London (1841-1861) | Factory Act (1847) - limited working hours / Public Health Act (1848) / Don Pacifico affair (1850) - 'gunboat diplomacy' | Victoria | Adelaide (née Lister) m. 1835; d.1838
Frances (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound) m.1841 |
Dickens dedicated 'A Tale of Two Cities' to Russell: "In remembrance of many public services and private kindnesses" |
| Edward Smith-Stanley (Earl of Derby) | 29 Mar 1799 | 23 Oct 1869 | Conservative | 1852 | 1852 | House of Lords | Victoria | Emma (née Bootle-Wilbraham) | Known as the "Who? Who?" ministry after Wellington asked the question as each new cabinet member was announced in the House of Lords. | |
| George Hamilton-Gordon (Earl of Aberdeen) | 28 Jan 1784 | 14 Dec 1860 | Tory / Peelite | 1852 - 1855 | House of Lords | Crimean War (1853-1856) | Victoria | Lady Catherine (née Hamilton)
d.1812) Harriet (née Douglas) d.1833 |
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| Henry Temple (Viscount Palmerston) | 20 Oct 1784 | 18 Oct 1865 | Liberal | 1855 - 1858 | 1857 | Tiverton (1835-1865) | Indian Rebellion (aka Indian Mutiny) (1857) / Government of India Bill (1858) - transferred control of the East India Company to the Crown, establishing the Raj. | Victoria | Emily (née Lamb) - sister of PM Lord Melbourne (William Lamb) | Oldest person at age 70 to become PM for 1st time |
| Edward Smith-Stanley (Earl of Derby) | 29 Mar 1799 | 23 Oct 1869 | Conservative | 1858 - 1859 | House of Lords | Jews Relief Act (1858) ended the disbarment for Jews to sit in Parliament | Victoria | Emma (née Bootle-Wilbraham) | Benjamin Disraeli was Chancellor of the Exchquer in all 3 Derby Ministries and 'ran' the ministries from the Commons | |
| Henry Temple (Viscount Palmerston) | 20 Oct 1784 | 18 Oct 1865 | Liberal | 1859 - 1865 | 1859 / 1865 | Tiverton (1835-1865) | Maintained a mostly neutral stance during American Civil War | Victoria | Emily (née Lamb) | Died in office |
| John Russell (Earl Russell) | 18 Aug 1792 | 28 May 1878 | Liberal | 1865 - 1866 | House of Lords (1861-1878) | Victoria | Adelaide (née Lister) m. 1835; d.1838
Frances (née Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound) m.1841 |
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| Edward Smith-Stanley (Earl of Derby) | 29 Mar 1799 | 23 Oct 1869 | Conservative | 1866 - 1868 | House of Lords | Second Reform Act (1867) | Victoria | Emma (née Bootle-Wilbraham) | ||
| Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield) | 21 Dec 1804 | 19 Apr 1881 | Conservative | 1868 | Buckinghamshire (1847-1876) | Victoria | Mary Anne (née Evans) | First and only Jewish Prime Minister to date | ||
| William Gladstone | 29 Dec 1809 | 19 May 1898 | Liberal | 1868 - 1874 | 1868 | Greenwich (1868-1880) | Victoria | Catherine (née Glynne) | ||
| Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield) | 21 Dec 1804 | 19 Apr 1881 | Conservative | 1874 - 1880 | 1874 | Buckinghamshire (1847-1876) / House of Lords (1876-1881) | Purchase of Suez Canal Company (1875) / Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act (1875) - decriminalised work of trade unions and allowed peaceful picketing / Royal Titles Act (1876) - officially recognised Queen Victoria as “Empress of India” / Anglo-Zulu War - Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift (1879) | Victoria | Mary Anne (née Evans) | |
| William Gladstone | 29 Dec 1809 | 19 May 1898 | Liberal | 1880 - 1885 | 1880 | Midlothian (1880-1895) | First Boer War (1880-1881) / Representation of the People Act (1884) - increased the number of men eligible to vote in an election | Victoria | Catherine (née Glynne) | |
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Marquess of Salisbury) | 3 Feb 1830 | 22 Aug 1903 | Conservative | 1885 - 1886 | 1885 | In House of Lords (1868-1903) | Victoria | Georgina (née Alderson) d.1899 | ||
| William Gladstone | 29 Dec 1809 | 19 May 1898 | Liberal | 1886 | Midlothian (1880-1895) | Home Rule Bill (1886) - failed | Victoria | Catherine (née Glynne) | ||
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Marquess of Salisbury) | 3 Feb 1830 | 22 Aug 1903 | Conservative | 1886 - 1892 | 1886 / 1892 | In House of Lords (1868-1903) | Naval Defence Act (1889) - greatly enlarged the size of Royal Navy / Founded London County Council (1889) | Victoria | Georgina (née Alderson) | |
| William Gladstone | 29 Dec 1809 | 19 May 1898 | Liberal | 1892 - 1894 | Midlothian (1880-1895) | Home Rule Bill (1893) - defeated in House of Lords | Victoria | Catherine (née Glynne) | ||
| Archibald Primrose (Earl of Rosebery) | 7 May 1847 | 21 May 1929 | Liberal | 1894 - 1895 | In House of Lords (1868-1929) | Victoria | Hannah (née de Rothschild) | Rosebery succeeded in his declared ambitions to marry an heiress, own a horse that won the Derby and be PM | ||
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Marquess of Salisbury) | 3 Feb 1830 | 22 Aug 1903 | Conservative | 1895 - 1902 | 1895 / 1900 | In House of Lords (1868-1903) | Second Boer War (1899-1902) / "khaki election" (1900) / Anglo-Japanese alliance (1902) | Victoria / Edward VII | Georgina (née Alderson) d.1899 | Last peer to serve as PM (except Douglas-Home who served briefly before renouncing his peerage) |
| Arthur Balfour | 25 Jul 1848 | 19 Mar 1930 | Conservative | 1902 - 1905 | Manchester East (1885-1906) | Education Act (1902) - established Local Education Authorities / Entente Cordiale signed with France (1904) | Edward VII | Balfour was nephew of the previous PM, Lord Salisbury | ||
| Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 7 Sep 1836 | 22 Apr 1908 | Liberal | 1905 - 1908 | 1906 | Stirling Burghs (1868-1908) | Probation Act (1907) - beginning of the modern Probation Service / Anglo-Russian Entente (1907) forming Triple Entente with France and Russia | Edward VII | Charlotte (née Bruce) d.1906 | |
| Herbert Asquith | 12 Sep 1852 | 15 Feb 1928 | Liberal | 1908 - 1916 | 1910 | East Fife (1886-1918) | Old Age Pensions Act (1908) - provided for a non-contributory old age pension for eligible people over 70 / National Insurance Act (1911) - intended to create a national system of insurance for working people against illness and unemployment / Parliament Act (1911) - removed right of the House of Lords to veto money bills and gave it the ability to delay other public bills for a maximum of 2 years. Reduced maximum term of a parliament from 7 years to 5 / Outbreak of WWI (1914) /Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) ( 1914) - gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war | Edward VII / George V | Helen (née Melland) d. 1891
Emma Margaret "Margot" (née Tennant) m.1894 |
Only PM to have taken office on foreign soil as Edward VII was in Biarritz at the time |
| David Lloyd-George | 17 Jan 1863 | 26 Mar 1945 | Liberal | 1916 - 1922 | 1918 | Carnarvon Boroughs (1890-1945) | Education Act (1918) - raised the school leaving age to 14 / 'Balfour Declaration' (1917) - supported the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in Palestine (Balfour was Foreign Secretary) / end of WWI (1918) / Representation of the People Act (1918) - extended the franchise in parliamentary elections to men aged over 21 and to women aged over 30 who occupied land or premises with a rateable value above £5, or whose husbands did / Treaty of Versailles (1919) | George V | Margaret (née Owen) d.1941
Frances (née Stevenson) m. 1943 |
Only PM to have spoken Welsh as his first language |
| Andrew Bonar Law | 16 Sep 1858 | 30 Oct 1923 | Conservative | 1922 - 1923 (209 days) | 1922 | Glasgow Central (1918-1923) | George V | Annie (née Robley) d.1909 | Resigned after contracting terminal throat cancer | |
| Stanley Baldwin | 3 Aug 1867 | 14 Dec 1947 | Conservative | 1923 - 1924 | 1923 | Bewdley (1908-1937) | George V | Lucy (née Ridsdale) | ||
| James Ramsay Macdonald | 12 Oct 1866 | 9 Nov 1937 | Labour | 1924 | Aberavon (1922-1929) | Housing (Financial Provisions) Act (1924) - increased government subsidies to be paid to local authorities to build municipal housing / Recognised Soviet Union (1924) / 'Campbell Case' (1924) - involved charges against J. R. Campbell, a British communist editor of 'Workers Weekly', for alleged "incitement to mutiny" and was instrumental in bringing down the short-lived first Labour government | George V | Margaret (née Gladstone) d.1911 | Minority Govt. / 1st Labour PM | |
| Stanley Baldwin | 3 Aug 1867 | 14 Dec 1947 | Conservative | 1924 - 1929 | 1924 | Bewdley (1908-1937) | General Strike (1926) / Trade Disputes Act (1927) - introduced to limit powers and of trade union movement after General Strike / Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act (1928) - widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men.Gave the vote to all women over 21 years old | George V | Lucy (née Ridsdale) | 1924 General Election was influenced by 'Zinoviev Letter' from head of Comintern which urged sedition should be encouraged in UK to promote a revolution (now seen as a forgery) |
| James Ramsay Macdonald | 12 Oct 1866 | 9 Nov 1937 | Labour | 1929 - 1935 | 1929 / 1931 | Aberavon (1922-1929) / Seaham (1929-1935) | Margaret Bondfield first female minister (Minister of Labour) (1929-1931)/ Great Depression (1929-1939) / Unemployment Act (1934) - introduced Unemployment Assistance Boards | George V | Margaret (née Gladstone) d.1911 | 1929 General Election was known as the 'flapper election' / National Government formed after 1931 General Election with Conservatives, Liberal Nationals and National Labour, plus Independents |
| Stanley Baldwin | 3 Aug 1867 | 14 Dec 1947 | Conservative | 1935 - 1937 | 1935 | Bewdley (1908-1937) | Government of India Act (1935) gave limited powers of self-government / Abdication crisis (1936) / Public Order Act (1936) -: introduced to deal with street disturbances following marches by British Union of Fascists and their opponents | George V / Edward VIII / George VI | Lucy (née Ridsdale) | National Government |
| Neville Chamberlain | 18 Mar 1869 | 9 Nov 1940 | Conservative | 1937 - 1940 | Birmingham Edgbaston (1929-1940) | Factories Act (1937) - limited hours worked by women and children / policy of appeasement / Munich crisis - "Peace for our Time" speech at Heston Aerodrome, holding Anglo-German Agreement (1938) / Outbreak of WWII (1939) | George VI | Anne (née de Vere Cole) | National Government / Resigned after 'Norway Debate' (May 1940) | |
| Winston Churchill | 30 Nov 1874 | 24 Jan 1965 | Conservative | 1940 - 1945 | Epping (1924-1945) | Took offfice on 10 May 1940 - the day Germany invaded France and the Low Countries / Education Act (1944) - 'Butler Act' - introduction of the 11+ and primary/secondary education system | George VI | Clementine (née Hozier) | National Government dissolved after defeat of Germany (May 1945) | |
| Clement Atlee | 3 Jan 1883 | 8 Oct 1967 | Labour | 1945 - 1951 | 1945 / 1950 | Limehouse (1922-1950) / Walthamstow West (1950-1955) | End of WWII / National Health Service Act (1946) - made healthcare free on the basis of citizenship and need rather than the payment of fees or insurance premiums / National Insurance Act (1946) - introduced social security. Workers paid a weekly contribution and in return were entitled to benefits when they could no longer work / Coal Industry Nationalisation Act (1946), Electricity Act (1947) and Transport Act (1947) - nationalised the coal industry, electricity utilities, railways and long-distance haulage / Town and Country Planning Act (1947) - planning permission required for land development / Independence for India and Pakistan (1947) / National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949) - allowed the creation of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, gave the public rights of way and access to open land / Parliament Act (1949) reduced House of Lords delay of bills to 1 year. | George VI | Violet (née Millar) | |
| Winston Churchill | 30 Nov 1874 | 24 Jan 1965 | Conservative | 1951 - 1955 | 1951 | Woodford (1945-1964) | George VI / Elizabeth II | Clementine (née Hozier) | ||
| Sir Anthony Eden | 12 Jun 1897 | 14 Jan 1977 | Conservative | 1955 - 1957 | 1955 | Warwick and Leamington (1923-1957) | Clean Air Act (1956) / Resigned after 'Suez Crisis' (1956-1957) | Elizabeth II | Beatrice (née Beckett) div. 1950)
Clarissa (née Spencer-Churchill) m. 1952 - niece of Winston Churchill |
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| Harold Macmillan | 10 Feb 1894 | 29 Dec 1986 | Conservative | 1957 - 1963 | 1959 | Bromley (1945 - 1964) | Era of 'decolonisation' and self-governance / Housing Act (1957) / "You've never had it so good" general election (1959) / UK founding member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (1960) / Vassall affair (1962) / 'Night of the Long Knives' cabinet re-shuffle (1962) / Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) / Profumo affair (1963) | Elizabeth II | Dorothy (née Cavendish) | Given nickname "Supermac" by cartoonist "Vicky" (Victor Weisz) in 1958 |
| Sir Alec Douglas-Home | 2 Jul 1903 | 9 Oct 1995 | Conservative | 1963 - 1964 (363 days) | House of Lords (4 days) / Kinross and Western Perthshire (1963-1974) | Elizabeth II | Elizabeth (née Alington) | Re-enobled in 1974 as Baron Home of the Hirsel | ||
| Harold Wilson | 11 Mar 1916 | 24 May 1995 | Labour | 1964 - 1970 | 1964 / 1966 | Huyton (1950-1983) | Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act (1965) - suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland / Southern Rhodesian government Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom (1965) / Sexual Offences Act (1967) - decriminalised certain homosexual offences / Abortion Act (1967) - legalised abortions on certain grounds / Iron and Steel Act (1967) - created the British Steel Corporation / devaluation of £ (1967) / Race Relations Act (1968) made it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins / Open University (1969) / phasing out of 11+ and grammar schools and replacement by comprehensives / beginning of Troubles in Northern Ireland | Elizabeth II | Gladys Mary (née Baldwin) | |
| Edward Heath | 9 Jul 1916 | 17 Jul 2005 | Conservative | 1970 - 1974 | 1970 | Bexley (1950-1974) | Decimalisation of British coinage (1971) / Industrial relations Act (1971) - legislation to curb union power repealed in 1974 / 'Bloody Sunday' (1972) / miners’ strikes (1972 and 1974) / 3-day week with electricity limited to 3 consecutive days’ use (1974) / UK entered the European Communities (EC) on 1 January 1973 / Oil Crisis (1973) | Elizabeth II | ||
| Harold Wilson | 11 Mar 1916 | 24 May 1995 | Labour | 1974 -1976 | 1974 (2) | Huyton (1950-1983) | Referendum confirmed the UK's membership of the European Communities (1975) | Elizabeth II | Gladys Mary (née Baldwin) | Wilson's Resignation Honours List became known as the "Lavender List" |
| James Callaghan | 27 Mar 1912 | 26 Mar 2005 | Labour | 1976 - 1979 | Cardiff South East (1950-1983) | Race Relations Act (1976) - amended 1968 Act / 'Lib-Lab Pact (1977/78) / 'Winter of Discontent' (1978/79) / Oil Crisis (1979) / devolution referenda held in Scotland and Wales (1979) - neither led to devolved governments | Elizabeth II | Audrey (née Moulton) | Only PM to come to office having held the other 3 great offices of state: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary | |
| Margaret Thatcher (née Roberts) | 13 Oct 1925 | 8 Apr 2013 | Conservative | 1979 - 1990 | 1979 / 1983 / 1987 | Finchley (1959-1992) | Housing Act (1980) - gave right to buy homes to tenants of local authorities / Falklands War (1982) / miners' strike (1984/85) / privatisation including British Telecom (1984) and British Gas (1986) / UK joined Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) (1990) / demonstrations against the introduction of the Community Charge (aka poll tax) in Scotland (1989) and in England and Wales (1990) | Elizabeth II | Denis Thatcher | Assassination attempt by the Provisional IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing |
| John Major | 29 Mar 1943 | Conservative | 1990 - 1997 | 1992 | Huntingdon (1979-2001) | Community Charge (aka poll tax) abolished (1991) and replaced by Council Tax / Gulf War (1990/91) / Treaty on European Union, (aka Maastricht Treaty) forms European Union (1992) / UK leaves Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) after 'Black Wednesday' (1992) / National Lottery Act (1993) / privatisation of British Rail (1994-1997) | Elizabeth II | Norma (née Johnson) | ||
| Tony Blair | 6 May 1953 | Labour | 1997 - 2007 | 1997 / 2001 / 2005 | Sedgefield (1983-2007) | Belfast Agreement (aka Good Friday Agreement) (1998) / Scotland Act (1998) - established devolved Scottish Parliament / Government of Wales Act (1998) - created a Welsh Assembly / National Minimum Wage Act (1998) / Human Rights Act (1998) - aimed to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights / War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) / Iraq War (2003-2011) / Civil Partnership Act (2004) -legal recognition of civil partnerships between people of the same sex | Elizabeth II | Cherie (née Booth) | ||
| Gordon Brown | 20 Feb 1951 | Labour | 2007 - 2010 | Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Dunfermline East) (1983-2015) | Climate Change Act (2008) - set a target for the year 2050 for the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions / 'Credit Crunch' (2008) | Elizabeth II | Sarah (née Macaulay) | |||
| David Cameron | 9 Oct 1966 | Conservative | 2010 - 2016 | 2010 / 2015 | Witney (2001-2016) | Coalition with Liberal Democrats (2010-2015) / Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2010) / Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (2013) / Succession to the Crown Act (2013) / Scottish Referendum on withdrawal from UK (2014) / Resigned after result of Brexit referendum announced (2016) | Elizabeth II | Samantha (née Sheffield) | ||
| Theresa May (née Brasier) | 1 Oct 1956 | Conservative | 2016 - 2019 | 2017 | Maidenhead (1997-) | Brexit negotiations - European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act (2017) / European Union (Withdrawal) Act (2018) | Elizabeth II | Philip May | ||
| Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson | 19 Jun 1964 | Conservative | 2019 - 2022 | 2019 | Uxbridge and South Ruislip (2015-) | Further Brexit negotiations / COVID / 'Partygate' | Elizabeth II | Allegra (née Mostyn-Owen) div.1993)
Marina (née Wheeler) m. 1993; div. 2020 Carrie (née Symonds) m. 2021 |
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| Mary Elizabeth Truss | 26 Jul 1975 | Conservative | 2022 (49 days) | South West Norfolk (2010-) | Financial instability following mini-budget forced resignation | Elizabeth II / Charles III | Hugh O'Leary | Shortest-serving PM in the history of the UK | ||
| Rishi Sunak | 12 May 1980 | Conservative | 2022 - 2024 | 2024 | Richmond (Yorks) (2015-) | Economic stability / Rwanda asylum plan . Windsor Framework | Charles III | Akshata Murty | 1st British Asian and Hindu to hold the office of prime minister | |
| Kier Starmer | 2 Sep 1962 | Labour | 2024 - | 2024 | Holborn and St Pancras (2015-) | Charles III | Victoria Alexander | |||
