Sir Keir Starmer will leave 10 Downing Street as the shortest-serving Labour prime minister in history, with his period in office ranking as one of the briefest in modern times. His resignation on Monday comes on the 717th day of his premiership.
Comparison with Predecessors
Starmer outlasted his two immediate Conservative predecessors: Rishi Sunak (619 days from October 2022 to July 2024) and Liz Truss (49 days from September to October 2022). He also spent longer in office than two other post-1900 prime ministers: Conservatives Andrew Bonar Law (211 days from October 1922 to May 1923) and Anthony Eden (645 days from April 1955 to January 1957).
However, Starmer will not have a chance to move any further up the rankings. He would need to remain in office until November 5 of this year to climb another place, overtaking Liberal prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who served 852 days from 1905 to 1908.
Planned Departure
Starmer has already indicated he will stand down by September, the latest possible date for the conclusion of a leadership contest. Had he clung on until at least May 21, 2027, he would have spent longer in office than Gordon Brown (1,049 days from June 2007 to May 2010). Instead, he leaves as his party's shortest-serving premier, behind all six previous Labour prime ministers.
Labour PM Rankings
Tony Blair remains Labour's longest-serving PM, with 3,708 days from May 1997 to June 2007. In second place is Harold Wilson, who served two non-consecutive periods totaling 2,835 days. Ramsay MacDonald also served two non-consecutive periods adding up to 2,480 days, though from 1931 to 1935 he was a member of the short-lived National Labour party. Clement Attlee was Labour PM continuously for 2,283 days from July 1945 to October 1951, while Jim Callaghan clocked up 1,124 days from April 1976 to May 1979, just ahead of Gordon Brown's total of 1,049.
