6 PMs in 10 years: Why is UK changing prime ministers more often than not

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will not set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street, his deputy David Lammy said on Monday, 18 May.

"There will be no timetable for departure," Lammy told Sky News as Starmer faces a major political crisis amid growing clamour from within his own party to resign following recent local election losses.

Starmer also met with a series of high-profile cabinet resignations—including Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Starmer has, however, defied calls to step down in recent days, after nearly 90 of his own MPs urged him to go and five ministers resigned, according to a BBC report

As things stand, more than 80 MPs have urged him to quit, while four junior ministers have stepped down. Some Labour politicians appear to be rallying around Burnham. Wes Streeting, for example, a main Starmer rival who announced his resignation as health secretary on Thursday, publicly backed Burnham

Burnham needs to win a critical by-election in Makerfield in Greater Manchester scheduled on 18 June and emerge as Labour party's leader and oust Starmer.

Makerfield would once have been described as a safe seat for Labour party for having won it in every general election since it was created in 1983. In all elections so far, the Labour party has attracted about 40 per cent of the vote here.

But, Burnham, if fielded from the seat, faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield by-election, allies have said, as per a report in the Guardian. Burham may face an uphill battle to beat Reform UK, the Nigel Farage’s far-right political party that won more than 50 per cent of the vote at the local elections.

Burnham, if elected as an MP, would then need to gather support from 81 Labour MPs, or 20 percent of the party in parliament, to launch a challenge against Starmer.

Cameron resigned in 2016 after the Brexit referendum where the UK voted to leave the European Union- a decision he had campaigned against. Cameroon was succeeded by Theresa May, who failed to secure parliamentary backing for her Brexit deal. After repeated failures to pass her agreement through Parliament, May resigned in 2019.

May was succeeded by Boris Johnson, who was for credited for getting Brexit done. Johnson’s tenure was, however, marred by controversies, including the handling of COVID-19 lockdown parties, ministerial resignations and declining party support. Johnson stepped down under pressure from his own Conservative Party in 2022.

Then came Prime Minister Liz Truss, who had the shortest tenure in British history – 49 days. Truss’ controversial “mini-budget" triggered financial market turmoil and a collapse in confidence, forcing her resignation. Rishi Sunak, who succeeded Truss, stabilised markets and government functioning but led the Conservatives into a period of electoral decline. Sunak lost power too.

Sir Keir Starmer succeeded Rishi Sunak as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 5 July 2024, following the Labour Party's victory in the general election.

Over the last 10 years, the UK has, on average, had a new prime minister every two years.

A predictable consequence of changing prime ministers in UK is that other ministers will also change, as any new PM will, naturally, want to shape her/his own cabinet.

“There has never been a period like the present,” Anthony Seldon, author of The Impossible Office?, which charts the 300-year story of the premiership, told the Guardian

True! UK's political volatility is not unprecedented. There were seven governments between 1827 and 1835, eight between 1852 and 1868 and seven between 1922 and 1937.

But the present volatility is unusual compared to the last 47 years. For about 37 years, between 1979 and 2016, the UK had only five prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron.

“Yes, there was a decade in each of the 18th (1760-1770) and 19th (1827-1837) centuries where we burned through prime ministers at a similar rate. But the six – and soon likely seven – PMs since 2016 rank as “unique” once we factor in the wider churn at the top. There have also been eight chancellors and nine foreign secretaries – before any post-Starmer reshuffle,” wrote Tom Clark, in the Guardian.

In recent changes, internal party instability has also led to instability. The prime ministers are now more vulnerable to removal from within their own parties rather than through general elections. Starmer is a classic example of that.

Some experts believe that the volatility is partly becasue political parties in the UK have recently handed the country a series of prime ministers lacking in key leadership skills. That too, they said, at a time when crises have hit thick and fast and a number of trends are making governing substantially harder.

Professor Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank told BBC news that the governance system in UK provided significant power to a government with a majority.

“That this majority has not been deployed [to drive through change] to date is a failure of leadership rather than being indicative of a systematic trend towards ungovernability,” he said.

What is the term of a UK PM?

There is no fixed term limit for a UK Prime Minister. One can serve as long as support of the majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons continues. Margaret Thatcher served for over 11 years, and the first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, served for over 20 years.

However, a government must hold a general election at least every five years, but leaders can be replaced at any time by their party.