• Sunday, June 16, 2024
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Who is the longest and shortest-ruling UK prime minister?

Who is the longest and shortest-ruling UK prime minister?

The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has called for a general election on July 4, which will see him go up against Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.

While Mr Sunak has been prime minister for about a year and half, the Conservatives have had several leaders in recent years, such as Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, and Theresa May.

Since 1937, the average length of time a prime minister serves is five years. The last PM to serve more than five years was David Cameron, who held the position from 2010 to 2016.

Below is the full list of post-war prime ministers in order of how long they remained in the top job.

Post-war Prime Ministers from the shortest to longest terms

Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been the Tory leader since October 25, 2022, meaning he has served for 576 days so far, as of May 23, 2024.

Liz Truss: 2022 – 44 days

Alec Douglas-Home: 1963-64 – 364 days

Anthony Eden: 1955-57 – 1 year and 279 days

Gordon Brown: 2007-10 – 2 years and 319 days

Boris Johnson: 2019–22 – 2 years and 362 days

Theresa May: 2016-19 – 3 years and 12 days

James Callaghan: 1976-79 – 3 years and 30 days

Winston Churchill: 1951-55 – 3 years and 162 days

Edward Heath: 1970-74 – 3 years and 259 days

Harold Wilson: 1974-76 – 2 years and 247 days

David Cameron: 2010-16 – 6 years and 64 days

Clement Attlee: 1945-51 – 6 years and 93 days

John Major: 1990-97 – 6 years and 156 days

Harold Macmillan: 1957-63 – 6 years and 282 days

Tony Blair: 1997-2007 – 10 years and 57 days

Margaret Thatcher: 1979-90 – 11 years and 209 days