Who was Britain’s WORST Prime Minister? VOTE in the Express.co.uk poll
PRIME MINISTER Theresa May will step down this week, paving the way for the new premier of the United Kingdom. But who was the UK’s worst yet? THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED. Results will be published shortly.
Theresa May makes her first speech as Prime Minister in 2016
Theresa May leaves behind a legacy dominated by Brexit and the insurmountable challenge of navigating a clear path out of the EU. When she resigned, she said: “It will be for my successor to seek a way forward.” And while all those jostling to succeed her claim to have the golden ticket to solving Brexit, time will tell if they will be able to succeed where she failed."
So how does this all stack up against history?
Here, we ask you, our readers, who you think the worst Prime Minister was in the UK in modern history.
Below you’ll find a short bio on each Prince Minister since World War 2 began. Results will be published after 24 hours.
POLL NOW CLOSED
1. CLEMENT ATTLEE
Term of office: 6 years and 93 days
Dates in office: July 26, 1945 - October 26, 1951
Party: Labour
Famous for: Introducing the welfare state and the NHS. Also the longest-ever serving Leader of the Labour Party and the first to command a Commons majority. Introduced wholesale nationalisation.
2. WINSTON CHURCHILL
Term of office: 8 years and 240 days
Dates in office: May 10, 1940 - July 26, 1945 and October 26, 1951 - April 5, 1955
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Leading Britain to victory in World War Two. Considered one of the 20th century’s most significant figures. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.
3. SIR ANTHONY EDEN
Term of office: 1 year and 279 days
Dates in office: April 6, 1955 - January 9, 1957
Party: Conservative
Famous for: The Suez Crisis, after which he resigned citing ill health.
4. HAROLD MACMILLAN
Term of office: 6 years and 282 days
Dates in office: January 10, 1957 - October 18, 1963
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Saying "You've never had it so good" in 1959. Being “Supermac”, his cartoon nickname. He mended USA-UK relations after the Suez Crisis, but his premiership was rocked by the Vassall and Profumo scandals.
5. SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME
Term of office: 364 days
Dates in office: October 19, 1963 - October 16, 1964
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Being the last Prime Minister to hold office while a member of the House of Lords, before renouncing his peerage.
6. HAROLD WILSON
Term of office: 8 years and 33 days
Dates in office: October 16, 1964 - June 19, 1970 and March 4, 1974 - April 5, 1976
Party: Labour
Famous for: Saying "the pound in your pocket" would not be devalued. Feared that he was being spied on and undermined by the security services and sending British troops into Northern Ireland in 1969.
7. EDWARD HEATH
Term of office: 3 years and 259 days
Dates in office: June 19, 1970 - March 4, 1974
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Taking Britain into the European Economic Community – now the European Union – in 1973. Had a long-running feud with Margaret Thatcher.
8. JAMES CALLAGHAN
Term of office: 3 years and 30 days
Dates in office: April 5, 1976 - May 4 1979
Party: Labour
Famous for: Being the only person to have held all four Great Offices of State, having served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister. Presided over the Winter of Discontent and not saying: "Crisis? What crisis?"
Brexit: Thatcher refuses to give power to Brussels in 1990
9. MARGARET THATCHER
Term of office: 11 years and 209 days
Dates in office: May 4, 1979 - November 28
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Being the ‘Iron Lady’, as well as the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the office.
10. JOHN MAJOR
Term of office: 6 years and 156 days
Dates in office: November 28, 1990 - May 2, 1997
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Presiding over British participation in the Gulf War in March 1991 and signing the Maastricht Treaty in December 1991
11. TONY BLAIR
Term of office: 10 years and 57 days
Dates in office: May 2, 1997 - June 27, 2007
Party: Labour
Famous for: Bringing Labour into the political centre. Oversaw aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; the Good Friday agreement, implementation of devolved powers in Scotland and Wales, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
12. GORDON BROWN
Term of office: 2 years and 319 days
Dates in office: June 27, 2007 - May 11, 2010
Party: Labour
Famous for: Reforming Britain’s monetary and fiscal policy architecture, but losing Labour’s hold on power and giving way to a Conservative Government. Selling off Britain's gold reserves at rock bottom prices.
13. DAVID CAMERON
Term of office: 6 years and 64 days
Dates in office: May 11, 2010 - July 13, 2016
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Implementing austerity to deal with the deficit, privatising the Royal Mail, legalising same-sex marriage, and calling the EU referendum.
14. THERESA MAY
Term of office: 2 years and 325 days
Dates in office: July 13, 2016 - stepping down soon
Party: Conservative
Famous for: Being the first Prime Minister to try to take the UK out of the European Union since it joined 46 years ago.