Datastream

UK Prime Ministers with the Shortest Term Length

Published

8 months ago

October 20, 2022

Nick Routley

Infographic showing UK prime ministers who had the shortest term

The Briefing

Eight Prime Ministers in UK history have had terms shorter than one year
In October 2022, Liz Truss became the shortest-serving PM, with just 44 days in the role

UK Prime Ministers with the Shortest Term Length

After six weeks that many have described as “chaotic”, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned. In stepping out of the PM role, Truss is stepping into the history books as the shortest-serving PM in UK history.

While Truss’s term is noteworthy for its briefness, she is not the only politician to have a whirlwind tour of Number 10 Downing Street. Of the 56 people who have held the PM position, eight have served less than a year:

Prime Minister	Length of Term	Party	Start of Tenure	Reason for Exit
Liz Truss	44 days	Conservative	2022	Resigned
George Canning	119 days	Tory (Canningite)	1827	Died
F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich	144 days	Tory (Canningite)	1827	Replaced
Andrew Bonar Law	211 days	Conservative (Scot. Unionist)	1922	Illness
W. Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire	225 days	Whig	1756	Replaced
W. Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne	266 days	Whig (Chathamite)	1782	Replaced
J. Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute	317 days	Tory	1762	Resigned
Sir Alec Douglas-Home	363 days	Conservative (Scot. Unionist)	1963	Election

The next shortest term in the post-war period goes to Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who served just a hair under one year.

Why So Short?

There are a variety of reasons why leaders have served such short terms.

Much like Liz Truss’s situation, PMs like John Stuart, third Earl of Bute, and Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, ended up resigning during turbulent political situations.

Others, such as George Canning and Andrew Bonar Law, had their terms cut short after succumbing to illness. (Thankfully, this is less common in the modern era.)

Some leaders were merely keeping the seat warm until a more permanent leader stepped into the role, as was the case with William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire.

A Global Look at Brevity in Office

Of course, short tenures are not unique to the UK. Truss’s departure is drawing comparisons to Kim Campbell and John Turner, who were Canadian PMs for 132 and 72 days, respectively.

In 2007, Kevin Rudd’s second stint as Australia’s PM lasted just 83 days. Australia even has a 7 day term in its history, as Frank Forde served as PM in a caretaker capacity after the death of John Curtin in 1945.

Japan is a country that has notably short tenures in office as well. Over the past three decades, the average length of a Japanese prime minister’s tenure has been under two years.

Where does this data come from?

Source: UK.gov, via Wikipedia

Related Topics:politics UK prime ministers

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Central Banks

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

Published

1 week ago

May 23, 2023

Marcus Lu

The Briefing

Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.

More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.

Methodology and Results

The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.

Year	Fed chair	% Great deal or Fair amount
2023	Jerome Powell	36%
2022	Jerome Powell	43%
2021	Jerome Powell	55%
2020	Jerome Powell	58%
2019	Jerome Powell	50%
2018	Jerome Powell	45%
2017	Janet Yellen	45%
2016	Janet Yellen	38%
2015	Janet Yellen	42%
2014	Janet Yellen	37%
2013	Ben Bernanke	42%
2012	Ben Bernanke	39%
2011	Ben Bernanke	41%
2010	Ben Bernanke	44%
2009	Ben Bernanke	49%
2008	Ben Bernanke	47%
2007	Ben Bernanke	50%
2006	Ben Bernanke	41%
2005	Alan Greenspan	56%
2004	Alan Greenspan	61%
2003	Alan Greenspan	65%
2002	Alan Greenspan	69%
2001	Alan Greenspan	74%

Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”

We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.

On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.

Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.

Confidence Now on the Decline

After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.

This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:

Negative impact on the stock market
Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable

Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Gallup (2023)

Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.