Who is the Prime Minister of United Kingdom?

Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister of United Kingdom since Jul 20, 2026.

Who is the longest-serving Prime Minister of United Kingdom?

Robert Walpole, with 7,607 days in office.

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🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Parliamentary constitutional monarchyElectoral democracy

Andy Burnham

Prime Minister · 42 days in office · 1,088 days remaining

Eligible to run again

How the political system works in the United Kingdom

In the UK, people do not vote for the prime minister directly. They vote for a local Member of Parliament (MP), and the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons picks the prime minister, usually its own leader. There is no limit on how long someone can hold the job, but a general election must be held at least every five years. The King is the head of state, which is now a mostly symbolic role.

Next election: 2029 — Next UK general election must be held by August 2029.

Tenure records

Longest-serving

Robert Walpole

7,607 days

Shortest-serving

Liz Truss

49 days

Average tenure

1,383 days

Andy Burnham: 97% below average

Recent prime ministers by days in office

Is a leader's tenure getting longer or shorter in the United Kingdom?

Across 80 completed terms, the average prime minister of the United Kingdom has served 1,383 days (about 3.8 years). Terms are getting shorter: the last five completed terms averaged just 732 days. The last leader to beat the average was David Cameron, who left office in 2016.

One completed term Average tenure per decade

All prime ministers of the United Kingdom

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Days
81	Andy Burnham	Jul 20, 2026	Incumbent	42
80	Keir Starmer	Jul 5, 2024	Jul 20, 2026	745
79	Rishi Sunak	Oct 25, 2022	Jul 5, 2024	619
78	Liz Truss	Sep 6, 2022	Oct 25, 2022	49
77	Boris Johnson	Jul 24, 2019	Sep 6, 2022	1,140
76	Theresa May	Jul 13, 2016	Jul 24, 2019	1,106
75	David Cameron	May 11, 2010	Jul 13, 2016	2,255
74	Gordon Brown	Jun 27, 2007	May 11, 2010	1,049
73	Tony Blair	May 2, 1997	Jun 27, 2007	3,708
72	John Major	Nov 28, 1990	May 2, 1997	2,347
71	Margaret Thatcher	May 4, 1979	Nov 28, 1990	4,226
70	James Callaghan	Apr 5, 1976	May 4, 1979	1,124
69	Harold Wilson	Mar 4, 1974	Apr 5, 1976	763
68	Edward Heath	Jun 19, 1970	Mar 4, 1974	1,354
67	Harold Wilson	Oct 16, 1964	Jun 19, 1970	2,072
66	Alec Douglas-Home	Oct 19, 1963	Oct 16, 1964	363
65	Harold Macmillan	Jan 10, 1957	Oct 18, 1963	2,472
64	Anthony Eden	Apr 6, 1955	Jan 9, 1957	644
63	Winston Churchill	Oct 26, 1951	Apr 5, 1955	1,257
62	Clement Attlee	Jul 26, 1945	Oct 26, 1951	2,283
61	Winston Churchill	May 10, 1940	Jul 26, 1945	1,903
60	Neville Chamberlain	May 28, 1937	May 10, 1940	1,078
59	Stanley Baldwin	Jun 7, 1935	May 28, 1937	721
58	Ramsay MacDonald	Jun 5, 1929	Jun 7, 1935	2,193
57	Stanley Baldwin	Nov 4, 1924	Jun 5, 1929	1,674
56	Ramsay MacDonald	Jan 22, 1924	Nov 4, 1924	287
55	Stanley Baldwin	May 23, 1923	Jan 16, 1924	238
54	Bonar Law	Oct 23, 1922	May 22, 1923	211
53	David Lloyd George	Dec 6, 1916	Oct 19, 1922	2,143
52	H. H. Asquith	Apr 8, 1908	Dec 5, 1916	3,163
51	Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Dec 5, 1905	Apr 3, 1908	850
50	Arthur Balfour	Jul 11, 1902	Dec 5, 1905	1,243
49	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Jun 25, 1895	Jul 11, 1902	2,572
48	Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery	Mar 5, 1894	Jun 22, 1895	474
47	William Ewart Gladstone	Aug 15, 1892	Mar 2, 1894	564
46	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Jul 25, 1886	Aug 11, 1892	2,209
45	William Ewart Gladstone	Feb 1, 1886	Jul 20, 1886	169
44	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Jun 23, 1885	Jan 28, 1886	219
43	William Ewart Gladstone	Apr 23, 1880	Jun 9, 1885	1,873
42	Benjamin Disraeli	Feb 20, 1874	Apr 21, 1880	2,252
41	William Ewart Gladstone	Dec 3, 1868	Feb 17, 1874	1,902
40	Benjamin Disraeli	Feb 27, 1868	Dec 1, 1868	278
39	Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby	Jun 28, 1866	Feb 27, 1868	609
38	John Russell, 1st Earl Russell	Oct 29, 1865	Jun 28, 1866	242
37	Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston	Jun 12, 1859	Oct 18, 1865	2,320
36	Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby	Feb 20, 1858	Jun 11, 1859	476
35	Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston	Feb 6, 1855	Feb 19, 1858	1,109
34	George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen	Dec 19, 1852	Jan 30, 1855	772
33	Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby	Feb 23, 1852	Dec 19, 1852	300
32	John Russell, 1st Earl Russell	Jun 30, 1846	Feb 23, 1852	2,064
31	Robert Peel	Aug 30, 1841	Jun 29, 1846	1,764
30	William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne	Apr 18, 1835	Aug 30, 1841	2,326
29	Robert Peel	Dec 10, 1834	Apr 8, 1835	119
28	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	Nov 17, 1834	Dec 9, 1834	22
27	William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne	Jul 16, 1834	Nov 14, 1834	121
26	Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey	Nov 22, 1830	Jul 16, 1834	1,332
25	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	Jan 22, 1828	Nov 16, 1830	1,029
24	F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich	Aug 31, 1827	Jan 21, 1828	143
23	George Canning	Apr 10, 1827	Aug 8, 1827	120
22	Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool	Jun 8, 1812	Apr 9, 1827	5,418
21	Spencer Perceval	Oct 4, 1809	May 11, 1812	950
20	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland	Mar 31, 1807	Oct 4, 1809	918
19	William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville	Feb 11, 1806	Mar 31, 1807	413
18	William Pitt the Younger	May 10, 1804	Mar 14, 1801	0
17	Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth	Mar 14, 1801	May 10, 1804	1,153
16	William Pitt the Younger	Dec 19, 1783	Mar 14, 1801	6,294
15	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland	Apr 2, 1783	Dec 19, 1783	261
14	William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne	Jul 4, 1782	Apr 2, 1783	272
13	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham	Mar 27, 1782	Jul 1, 1782	96
12	Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford	Jan 28, 1770	Mar 22, 1782	4,436
11	Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton	Oct 14, 1768	Jan 28, 1770	471
10	William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham	Jul 30, 1766	Oct 14, 1768	807
9	Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham	Jul 13, 1765	Jul 30, 1766	382
8	George Grenville	Apr 16, 1763	Jul 13, 1765	819
7	John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute	May 26, 1762	Apr 8, 1763	317
6	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	Jul 2, 1757	May 26, 1762	1,789
5	William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire	Nov 16, 1756	Jun 25, 1757	221
4	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	Mar 16, 1754	Nov 16, 1756	976
3	Henry Pelham	Aug 27, 1743	Mar 6, 1754	3,844
2	Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington	Feb 16, 1742	Jul 2, 1743	501
1	Robert Walpole	Apr 15, 1721	Feb 11, 1742	7,607

Officeholder history via Wikidata. Multiple rows for one person indicate separate terms.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the Prime Minister of United Kingdom?: Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister of United Kingdom since Jul 20, 2026.
How is the leader of United Kingdom chosen?: In the UK, people do not vote for the prime minister directly. They vote for a local Member of Parliament (MP), and the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons picks the prime minister, usually its own leader. There is no limit on how long someone can hold the job, but a general election must be held at least every five years. The King is the head of state, which is now a mostly symbolic role.
Who is the longest-serving Prime Minister of United Kingdom?: Robert Walpole, with 7,607 days in office.
Are leaders serving longer or shorter terms in United Kingdom?: Across 80 completed terms, the average prime minister of the United Kingdom has served 1,383 days (about 3.8 years). Terms are getting shorter: the last five completed terms averaged just 732 days. The last leader to beat the average was David Cameron, who left office in 2016.