Past Prime Ministers of the UK

Explore the full list of UK Prime Ministers, from Sir Robert Walpole in 1721 to the present day. Our interactive table makes it easy to search, filter, and sort through centuries of leadership.

You can quickly filter by political party, search by year to see who was in office at that time, or find a Prime Minister by entering part of their name. Each entry shows the leader’s party, years in office, and the duration of their term, giving you a clear view of Britain’s political history.

Select Political Party : to filter the data table below.

Prime Ministers	Party	Duration	Years in office	Count
Sir Robert Walpole	Whig	1721-1742	1721, 1722, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1729, 1730, 1731, 1732, 1733, 1734, 1735, 1736, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, 1741, 1742	22
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington	Whig	1742-1743	1742, 1743	2
Henry Pelham	Whig	1743-1754	1743, 1744, 1745, 1746, 1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1753, 1754	12
Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle	Whig	1754-1756, 1757-1762	1754, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1758, 1759, 1760, 1761, 1762	9
William Cavendish Duke of Devonshire	Whig	1756-1757	1756, 1757	2
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute	Tory	1762-1763	1762, 1763	2
George Grenville	Whig	1763-1765	1763, 1764, 1765	3
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham	Whig	1765-1766, 1782-1782	1765, 1766, 1782	3
William Pitt 'The Elder', 1st Earl of Chatham	Whig	1766-1768	1766, 1767, 1768	3
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton	Whig	1768-1770	1768, 1769, 1770	3
Lord Frederick North	Tory	1770-1782	1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782	13
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne	Whig	1782-1783	1782, 1783	2
William Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland	Whig	1783-1783, 1807-1809	1783, 1807, 1808, 1809	4
William Pitt 'The Younger'	Tory and Whig	1783-1801, 1804-1806	1783, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1804, 1805, 1806	22
Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth	Tory	1801-1804	1801, 1802, 1803, 1804	4
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville	Whig	1806-1807	1806, 1807	2
Spencer Perceval	Tory	1809-1812	1809, 1810, 1811, 1812	4
Robert Banks Jenkinson Earl of Liverpool	Conservative	1812-1827	1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827	16
George Canning	Tory	1827-1827	1827	1
Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich	Tory	1827-1828	1827, 1828	2
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	Tory	1828-1830, 1834-1834	1828, 1829, 1830, 1834	4
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey	Whig	1830-1834	1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834	5
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne	Whig	1834-1834, 1835-1841	1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841	8
Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet	Conservative	1834-1835, 1841-1846	1834, 1835, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846	8
Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell	Whig	1846-1852, 1865-1866	1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1865, 1866	9
Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby	Tory and Whig	1852-1852, 1858-1859, 1866-1868	1852, 1858, 1859, 1866, 1867, 1868	6
George Hamilton Gordon Earl of Aberdeen	Conservative	1852-1855	1852, 1853, 1854, 1855	4
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston	Whig and Liberal	1855-1858, 1859-1865	1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865	11
Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield	Conservative	1868-1868, 1874-1880	1868, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880	8
William Ewart Gladstone	Liberal	1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886-1886, 1892-1894	1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1892, 1893, 1894	17
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Conservative	1885-1886, 1886-1892, 1895-1902	1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902	16
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery	Liberal	1894-1895	1894, 1895	2
Arthur James Balfour	Conservative	1902-1905	1902, 1903, 1904, 1905	4
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Liberal	1905-1908	1905, 1906, 1907, 1908	4
Herbert Henry Asquith	Liberal	1908-1916	1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916	9
David Lloyd George	Liberal	1916-1922	1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922	7
Andrew Bonar Law	Conservative	1922-1923	1922, 1923	2
Stanley Baldwin	Conservative	1923-1924, 1924-1929, 1935-1937	1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1937	10
James Ramsay MacDonald	Labour	1924-1924, 1929-1935	1924, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935	8
Neville Chamberlain	Conservative	1937-1940	1937, 1938, 1939, 1940	4
Sir Winston Churchill	Conservative	1940-1945, 1951-1955	1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955	11
Clement Attlee	Labour	1945-1951	1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951	7
Sir Anthony Eden	Conservative	1955-1957	1955, 1956, 1957	3
Harold Macmillan	Conservative	1957-1963	1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963	7
Sir Alec Douglas-Home	Conservative	1963-1964	1963, 1964	2
Harold Wilson	Labour	1964-1970, 1974-1976	1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976	10
Sir Edward Heath	Conservative	1970-1974	1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974	5
James Callaghan	Labour	1976-1979	1976, 1977, 1978, 1979	4
Baroness Margaret Thatcher	Conservative	1979-1990	1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990	12
Sir John Major KG CH	Conservative	1990-1997	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997	8
Sir Tony Blair KG	Labour	1997-2007	1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007	11
Gordon Brown	Labour	2007-2010	2007, 2008, 2009, 2010	4
Lord Cameron	Conservative	2010-2016	2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016	7
Theresa May	Conservative	2016-2019	2016, 2017, 2018, 2019	4
Boris Johnson	Conservative	2019-2022	2019, 2020, 2021, 2022	4
Elizabeth Truss	Conservative	2022-2022	2022	1
The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak	Conservative	2022-2024	2022, 2023, 2024	3
Prime Ministers	Party	Duration	Years in office	Count

Longest and Shortest Terms: UK Prime Ministers have served for vastly different lengths of time. Sir Robert Walpole held office for 21 years, the longest in history, while Liz Truss lasted less than two months. Several leaders, such as William Gladstone and the Duke of Newcastle, even returned for multiple non-consecutive terms, something rare in modern politics.

Party Dominance Over Time: The list shows clear shifts in party power. The Whigs dominated the 18th century, while the Conservatives have produced most Prime Ministers since the 19th century. Labour and Liberal leaders appear in shorter but influential periods, highlighting the evolving political landscape.

From Aristocrats to MPs: Earlier Prime Ministers were often titled aristocrats—Dukes, Earls, and Viscounts—reflecting the influence of the peerage. By the 20th century, titles gave way to elected MPs, showing the transition from aristocratic leadership to modern parliamentary democracy.

Source of information: Past Prime Ministers - GOV.UK