Quick answer: The United Kingdom has had 59 Prime Ministers. The current Prime Minister is Andy Burnham (Labour), who took office on 20 July 2026, succeeding Sir Keir Starmer. The first was Sir Robert Walpole, generally regarded as taking office in 1721.
Below is the complete list of every British Prime Minister in order, each listed by the date they first took office, with their party and all terms served. Further down you’ll find records, party totals and answers to the most common questions.
Complete List of British Prime Ministers in Order
| # | Prime Minister | Party | Term(s) in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Robert Walpole | Whig | 1721–1742 |
| 2 | Earl of Wilmington | Whig | 1742–1743 |
| 3 | Henry Pelham | Whig | 1743–1754 |
| 4 | Duke of Newcastle | Whig | 1754–1756, 1757–1762 |
| 5 | Duke of Devonshire | Whig | 1756–1757 |
| 6 | Earl of Bute | Tory | 1762–1763 |
| 7 | George Grenville | Whig | 1763–1765 |
| 8 | Marquess of Rockingham | Whig | 1765–1766, 1782 |
| 9 | Earl of Chatham (Pitt the Elder) | Whig | 1766–1768 |
| 10 | Duke of Grafton | Whig | 1768–1770 |
| 11 | Lord North | Tory | 1770–1782 |
| 12 | Earl of Shelburne | Whig | 1782–1783 |
| 13 | Duke of Portland | Whig, later Tory | 1783, 1807–1809 |
| 14 | William Pitt the Younger | Tory | 1783–1801, 1804–1806 |
| 15 | Henry Addington | Tory | 1801–1804 |
| 16 | Lord Grenville | Whig | 1806–1807 |
| 17 | Spencer Perceval | Tory | 1809–1812 |
| 18 | Earl of Liverpool | Tory | 1812–1827 |
| 19 | George Canning | Tory | 1827 |
| 20 | Viscount Goderich | Tory | 1827–1828 |
| 21 | Duke of Wellington | Tory | 1828–1830, 1834 |
| 22 | Earl Grey | Whig | 1830–1834 |
| 23 | Viscount Melbourne | Whig | 1834, 1835–1841 |
| 24 | Sir Robert Peel | Conservative | 1834–1835, 1841–1846 |
| 25 | Lord John Russell | Whig / Liberal | 1846–1852, 1865–1866 |
| 26 | Earl of Derby | Conservative | 1852, 1858–1859, 1866–1868 |
| 27 | Earl of Aberdeen | Peelite | 1852–1855 |
| 28 | Viscount Palmerston | Whig / Liberal | 1855–1858, 1859–1865 |
| 29 | Benjamin Disraeli | Conservative | 1868, 1874–1880 |
| 30 | William Ewart Gladstone | Liberal | 1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886, 1892–1894 |
| 31 | Marquess of Salisbury | Conservative | 1885–1886, 1886–1892, 1895–1902 |
| 32 | Earl of Rosebery | Liberal | 1894–1895 |
| 33 | Arthur Balfour | Conservative | 1902–1905 |
| 34 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | Liberal | 1905–1908 |
| 35 | H. H. Asquith | Liberal | 1908–1916 |
| 36 | David Lloyd George | Liberal | 1916–1922 |
| 37 | Bonar Law | Conservative | 1922–1923 |
| 38 | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | 1923–1924, 1924–1929, 1935–1937 |
| 39 | Ramsay MacDonald | Labour | 1924, 1929–1935 |
| 40 | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative | 1937–1940 |
| 41 | Sir Winston Churchill | Conservative | 1940–1945, 1951–1955 |
| 42 | Clement Attlee | Labour | 1945–1951 |
| 43 | Sir Anthony Eden | Conservative | 1955–1957 |
| 44 | Harold Macmillan | Conservative | 1957–1963 |
| 45 | Sir Alec Douglas-Home | Conservative | 1963–1964 |
| 46 | Harold Wilson | Labour | 1964–1970, 1974–1976 |
| 47 | Edward Heath | Conservative | 1970–1974 |
| 48 | James Callaghan | Labour | 1976–1979 |
| 49 | Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 1979–1990 |
| 50 | John Major | Conservative | 1990–1997 |
| 51 | Tony Blair | Labour | 1997–2007 |
| 52 | Gordon Brown | Labour | 2007–2010 |
| 53 | David Cameron | Conservative | 2010–2016 |
| 54 | Theresa May | Conservative | 2016–2019 |
| 55 | Boris Johnson | Conservative | 2019–2022 |
| 56 | Liz Truss | Conservative | 2022 |
| 57 | Rishi Sunak | Conservative | 2022–2024 |
| 58 | Sir Keir Starmer | Labour | 2024–2026 |
| 59 | Andy Burnham | Labour | 2026–present |
Note on numbering: Prime Ministers are numbered by the date they first took office. Several served multiple non-consecutive terms but are counted once. Party labels before the mid-19th century are approximate, as the modern party system had not yet formed.
UK Prime Ministers by Party
Of the 59 individuals who have held the office, 20 have been Conservatives (from Sir Robert Peel onwards) and a further ten or so were Tories in the pre-Victorian era. The Whigs and their Liberal successors dominated the 18th and 19th centuries, supplying most early premiers, with seven serving under the Liberal banner between Palmerston and Lloyd George.
Labour has produced just 8 Prime Ministers in its entire history: Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Keir Starmer — and now Andy Burnham. That makes Burnham only the eighth Labour Prime Minister since the party’s first government in 1924.
Records and Notable Facts
Longest-serving Prime Minister: Sir Robert Walpole, the very first, who governed for almost 21 years (1721–1742). No one has come close since; the modern record belongs to Margaret Thatcher, with 11 and a half consecutive years (1979–1990).
Shortest-serving Prime Minister: Liz Truss, whose 2022 premiership collapsed after just 49 days. She took the record from George Canning, who died in office in 1827 after 119 days.
Youngest Prime Minister: William Pitt the Younger, appointed in 1783 at the age of 24 — a record that will almost certainly never be broken.
Oldest on first appointment: Viscount Palmerston, who became Prime Minister in 1855 at 70 and won a general election at 80.
Women Prime Ministers: Three — Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss — all of them Conservative. Labour has yet to be led into Downing Street by a woman.
The only assassinated Prime Minister: Spencer Perceval, shot in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812.
Most separate terms: William Gladstone, who formed four distinct governments between 1868 and 1894, resigning for the final time at 84.
A decade of churn: Seven different Prime Ministers have held office in the past ten years — Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, Starmer and Burnham — the fastest turnover in modern British history and a sequence with no parallel since the 1820s.
A first for Burnham: Andy Burnham is the first person to move directly from a directly elected metro mayoralty (Greater Manchester, 2017–2026) into 10 Downing Street, having returned to Parliament through a by-election in Makerfield earlier in 2026.
How Is a UK Prime Minister Chosen?
Britons do not vote directly for a Prime Minister. The monarch appoints the person best able to command the confidence of the House of Commons — normally the leader of the largest party. That is why the country can change Prime Minister without a general election: when a governing party changes its leader mid-term, the new leader becomes Prime Minister, as happened when Andy Burnham succeeded Keir Starmer in July 2026. The next general election must be held by 2029.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? Andy Burnham of the Labour Party, in office since 20 July 2026.
How many Prime Ministers has the UK had? 59 individuals have served as Prime Minister since Sir Robert Walpole in 1721.
Who was the first British Prime Minister? Sir Robert Walpole is conventionally regarded as the first, holding power from 1721 to 1742, although the title was not official in his day.
Who was the shortest-serving UK Prime Minister? Liz Truss, who resigned in 2022 after 49 days in office.
Who was the longest-serving UK Prime Minister? Sir Robert Walpole, with nearly 21 years. Among modern premiers, Margaret Thatcher served longest.
How many Labour Prime Ministers have there been? Eight: MacDonald, Attlee, Wilson, Callaghan, Blair, Brown, Starmer and Burnham.
When is the next UK general election? No later than 2029, five years after the July 2024 election, though the Prime Minister may call one earlier.
