The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet.

There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over time through a merger of duties. The term was regularly, if informally, used by Robert Walpole by the 1730s. It was used in the House of Commons as early as 1805, and it was certainly in parliamentary use by the 1880s, although did not become the official title until 1905, when Arthur Balfour was prime minister.

Historians generally consider Robert Walpole, who led the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain for over twenty years from 1721, to be the first prime minister. Walpole is also the longest-serving British prime minister by this definition. The first prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was William Pitt the Younger at its creation on 1 January 1801. The first to use the title in an official act was Benjamin Disraeli who signed the 1878 Treaty of Berlin as "Prime Minister of Her Britannic Majesty".

In 1905, the post of prime minister was officially given recognition in the order of precedence, with the incumbent Henry Campbell-Bannerman the first officially referred to as "prime minister". The first prime minister of the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon its effective creation in 1922 (when 26 Irish counties seceded and created the Irish Free State) was Bonar Law, although the country was not renamed officially until 1927, when Stanley Baldwin was the serving prime minister.

The incumbent prime minister is Keir Starmer, who assumed the office on 5 July 2024.

Before the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, the Treasury of England was led by the Lord High Treasurer. By the late Tudor period, the Lord High Treasurer was regarded as one of the Great Officers of State, and was often (though not always) the dominant figure in government: Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (lord high treasurer, 1547–1549), served as lord protector to his young nephew King Edward VI; William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (lord high treasurer, 1572–1598), was the dominant minister to Queen Elizabeth I; Burghley's son Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, succeeded his father as Chief Minister to Elizabeth (1598–1603) and was eventually appointed by King James I as lord high treasurer (1608–1612).

By the late Stuart period, the Treasury was often run not by a single individual (i.e., the lord high treasurer) but by a commission of lords of the Treasury, led by the first lord of the Treasury. The last lords high treasurer, Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (1702–1710) and Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford (1711–1714), ran the government of Queen Anne.

Following the succession of George I in 1714, the arrangement of a commission of lords of the Treasury (as opposed to a single lord high treasurer) became permanent. For the next three years, the government was headed by Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department. Subsequently, Lords Stanhope and Sunderland ran the government jointly, with Stanhope managing foreign affairs and Sunderland domestic. Stanhope died in February 1721 and Sunderland resigned two months later; Townshend and Robert Walpole were then invited to form the next government. From that point, the holder of the office of first lord also usually (albeit unofficially) held the status of prime minister. It was not until the Edwardian era that the title prime minister was constitutionally recognised. The prime minister still holds the office of first lord by constitutional convention, the only exceptions being the Earl of Chatham and the Marquess of Salisbury.

• • 18th century
  • 19th century
  • 20th century
  • 21st century

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• • George I
  • George II
  • George III
  • George IV
  • William IV
  • Victoria
  • Edward VII
  • George V
  • Edward VIII
  • George VI
  • Elizabeth II
  • Charles III

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• •   Conservative (20)
  •   Whig (16)
  •   Tory (10)
  •   Labour (7)
  •   Liberal (7)
  •   Scottish Unionists (2)
  •   National Labour (1)
  •   Peelite (1)

List of prime ministers of Great Britain or the United Kingdom since 1721

Portrait		Prime minister Office (Lifespan)	Term of office			Mandate	Ministerial offices held as prime minister	Party	Government	Monarch Reign
			Start	End	Duration
​		Robert Walpole MP for King's Lynn (1676–1745)	3 April 1721	11 February 1742	20 years, 315 days	1722	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Walpole–Townshend	George I r. 1714–1727
						1727				George II r. 1727–1760
						1734			Walpole
						1741
		Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington (1673–1743)	16 February 1742	2 July 1743	1 year, 137 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury		Carteret
		Henry Pelham MP for Sussex (1694–1754)	27 August 1743	6 March 1754	10 years, 192 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons		Broad Bottom I
						1747			Broad Bottom II
		Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)	16 March 1754	11 November 1756	2 years, 241 days	1754	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Newcastle I
		William Cavendish 4th Duke of Devonshire (1720–1764)	16 November 1756	29 June 1757	226 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Lord Treasurer of Ireland		Pitt–Devonshire
									1757 Caretaker
		Thomas Pelham-Holles 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)	29 June 1757	26 May 1762	4 years, 332 days	1761	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Pitt–Newcastle
									Bute–Newcastle (Tory–Whig)	George III r. 1760–1820
		John Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute (1713–1792)	26 May 1762	8 April 1763	318 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory	Bute
		George Grenville MP for Buckingham (1712–1770)	16 April 1763	10 July 1765	2 years, 86 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig (Grenvillite)	Grenville (mainly Whig)
		Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782)	13 July 1765	30 July 1766	1 year, 18 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig (Rockinghamite)	Rockingham I
		William Pitt the Elder 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778)	30 July 1766	14 October 1768	2 years, 77 days	1768	Lord Privy Seal	Whig (Chathamite)	Chatham
		Augustus FitzRoy 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735–1811)	14 October 1768	28 January 1770	1 year, 107 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Grafton
		Frederick North Lord North MP for Banbury (1732–1792)	28 January 1770	27 March 1782	12 years, 59 days	1774	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory (Northite)	North
						1780
		Charles Watson-Wentworth 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782)	27 March 1782	1 July 1782	97 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury	Whig (Rockinghamite)	Rockingham II
		William Petty 2nd Earl of Shelburne (1737–1805)	4 July 1782	26 March 1783	266 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig (Chathamite)	Shelburne
		William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809)	2 April 1783	18 December 1783	261 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Fox–North
		William Pitt the Younger MP for Appleby, later Cambridge University (1759–1806)	19 December 1783	14 March 1801	17 years, 86 days	1784	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory (Pittite)	Pitt I
						1790
						1796
		Henry Addington MP for Devizes (1757–1844)	17 March 1801	10 May 1804	3 years, 55 days	1801	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory (Addingtonian)	Addington
						1802
		William Pitt the Younger MP for Cambridge University (1759–1806)	10 May 1804	23 January 1806	1 year, 259 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory (Pittite)	Pitt II
		William Grenville 1st Baron Grenville (1759–1834)	11 February 1806	25 March 1807	1 year, 43 days	1806	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
		William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809)	31 March 1807	4 October 1809	2 years, 188 days	1807	First Lord of the Treasury	Tory (Pittite)	Portland II
		Spencer Perceval MP for Northampton (1762–1812)	4 October 1809	11 May 1812	2 years, 221 days	—	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Chancellor of the Exchequer Commissioner of the Treasury for Ireland (1810–1812)		Perceval
		Robert Jenkinson 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770–1828)	8 June 1812	9 April 1827	14 years, 306 days	1812	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Liverpool
						1818				George IV r. 1820–1830
						1820
						1826
		George Canning MP for Seaford (1770–1827)	12 April 1827	8 August 1827	119 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Tory (Canningite)	Canning (Canningite–Whig)
		Frederick John Robinson 1st Viscount Goderich (1782–1859)	31 August 1827	8 January 1828	131 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory (Canningite)	Goderich
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852)	22 January 1828	16 November 1830	2 years, 299 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Tory	Wellington–Peel
						(1830)				William IV r. 1830–1837
		Charles Grey 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845)	22 November 1830	9 July 1834	3 years, 230 days	1831	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Grey
						1832
		William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)	16 July 1834	14 November 1834	122 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Melbourne I
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852)	17 November 1834	9 December 1834	23 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs Sec. of State for the Home Dept Sec. of State for War & Colonies	Tory	Wellington Caretaker
		Robert Peel MP for Tamworth (1788–1850)	10 December 1834	8 April 1835	120 days	(—)	Chancellor of the Exchequer First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Peel I
		William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)	18 April 1835	30 August 1841	6 years, 135 days	1835	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Melbourne II
						1837				Victoria r. 1837–1901
		Robert Peel MP for Tamworth (1788–1850)	30 August 1841	29 June 1846	4 years, 304 days	1841	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Peel II
		John Russell MP for City of London (1792–1878)	30 June 1846	21 February 1852	5 years, 237 days	(1847)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Russell I
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	23 February 1852	17 December 1852	299 days	1852	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Who? Who?
		George Hamilton-Gordon 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1784–1860)	19 December 1852	30 January 1855	2 years, 43 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Peelite	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig–others)
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton (1784–1865)	6 February 1855	19 February 1858	3 years, 14 days	1857	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Whig	Palmerston I
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	20 February 1858	11 June 1859	1 year, 112 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli II
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton (1784–1865)	12 June 1859	18 October 1865	6 years, 129 days	1859	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Liberal	Palmerston II
						1865
		John Russell 1st Earl Russell (1792–1878)	29 October 1865	26 June 1866	241 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords		Russell II
		Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)	28 June 1866	25 February 1868	1 year, 243 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli III
		Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire (1804–1881) Premierships	27 February 1868	1 December 1868	279 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Greenwich (1809–1898) Premierships	3 December 1868	17 February 1874	5 years, 77 days	1868	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1873–1874)	Liberal	Gladstone I
		Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire (to 1876) Earl of Beaconsfield (from 1876) (1804–1881) Premierships	20 February 1874	21 April 1880	6 years, 62 days	1874	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons (1874–1876)	Conservative	Disraeli II
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	23 April 1880	9 June 1885	5 years, 48 days	1880	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1880–1882)	Liberal	Gladstone II
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	23 June 1885	28 January 1886	220 days	(—)	Leader of the House of Lords Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs	Conservative	Salisbury I
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	1 February 1886	20 July 1886	170 days	(1885)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal	Liberal	Gladstone III
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	25 July 1886	11 August 1892	6 years, 18 days	(1886)	First Lord of the Treasury (1886–1887)	Conservative	Salisbury II
		William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian (1809–1898) Premierships	15 August 1892	2 March 1894	1 year, 200 days	(1892)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal	Liberal	Gladstone IV
		Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847–1929)	5 March 1894	22 June 1895	1 year, 110 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords Lord President of the Council		Rosebery
		Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)	25 June 1895	11 July 1902	7 years, 17 days	1895	Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal (1900–1902)	Conservative	Salisbury III (Con–Lib.U)
						1900			Salisbury IV (Con–Lib.U)
										Edward VII r. 1901–1910
		Arthur Balfour MP for Manchester East (1848–1930)	12 July 1902	4 December 1905	3 years, 146 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal (1902–1903)		Balfour (Con–Lib.U)
		Henry Campbell-Bannerman MP for Stirling Burghs (1836–1908)	5 December 1905	3 April 1908	2 years, 121 days	1906	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
		H. H. Asquith MP for East Fife (1852–1928)	8 April 1908	5 December 1916	8 years, 243 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Sec. of State for War (1914)		Asquith I
						(1910)			Asquith II	George V r. 1910–1936
						(1910)			Asquith III
						(—)			Asquith Coalition (Lib–Con–others)
		David Lloyd George MP for Caernarvon Boroughs (1863–1945)	6 December 1916	19 October 1922	5 years, 318 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury		Lloyd George War
						1918			Lloyd George II (Lib–Con)
		Bonar Law MP for Glasgow Central (1858–1923)	23 October 1922	20 May 1923	210 days	1922	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative (Scot.U.)	Law
		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	22 May 1923	22 January 1924	246 days	—	Chancellor of the Exchequer (1923) First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Baldwin I
		Ramsay MacDonald MP for Aberavon (1866–1937)	22 January 1924	4 November 1924	288 days	(1923)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs	Labour	MacDonald I
		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	4 November 1924	4 June 1929	4 years, 213 days	1924	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Baldwin II
		Ramsay MacDonald MP for Seaham (1866–1937)	5 June 1929	7 June 1935	6 years, 3 days	(1929)	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	MacDonald II
						(—)		National Labour	National I (Nat.Lab–Con–others)
						1931			National II
​		Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	7 June 1935	28 May 1937	1 year, 356 days	1935	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	National III
										Edward VIII r. 1936
										George VI r. 1936–1952
		Neville Chamberlain MP for Birmingham Edgbaston (1869–1940)	28 May 1937	10 May 1940	2 years, 349 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons		National IV
									Chamberlain War
		Winston Churchill MP for Epping (1874–1965)	10 May 1940	26 July 1945	5 years, 78 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons (1940–1942)		Churchill War
									Churchill Caretaker (Con–Nat.Lib)
		Clement Attlee MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	26 July 1945	26 October 1951	6 years, 93 days	1945	First Lord of the Treasury Minister of Defence (1945–1946)	Labour	Attlee I
						1950			Attlee II
		Winston Churchill MP for Woodford (1874–1965)	26 October 1951	5 April 1955	3 years, 162 days	1951	First Lord of the Treasury Minister of Defence (1951–1952)	Conservative	Churchill III
										Elizabeth II r. 1952–2022
		Anthony Eden MP for Warwick and Leamington (1897–1977)	6 April 1955	9 January 1957	1 year, 279 days	1955	First Lord of the Treasury		Eden
		Harold Macmillan MP for Bromley (1894–1986)	10 January 1957	18 October 1963	6 years, 282 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury		Macmillan I
						1959			Macmillan II
		Alec Douglas-Home MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire (1903–1995)	18 October 1963	16 October 1964	365 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury	Conservative (Scot.U.)	Douglas-Home
		Harold Wilson MP for Huyton (1916–1995)	16 October 1964	19 June 1970	5 years, 247 days	1964	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service (1968–1970)	Labour	Wilson I
						1966			Wilson II
		Edward Heath MP for Bexley (1916–2005)	19 June 1970	4 March 1974	3 years, 259 days	1970	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Heath
		Harold Wilson MP for Huyton (1916–1995)	4 March 1974	5 April 1976	2 years, 33 days	(1974)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Labour	Wilson III
						1974			Wilson IV
		James Callaghan MP for Cardiff South East (1912–2005)	5 April 1976	4 May 1979	3 years, 30 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Callaghan
		Margaret Thatcher MP for Finchley (1925–2013) Premiership	4 May 1979	28 November 1990	11 years, 209 days	1979	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Thatcher I
						1983			Thatcher II
						1987			Thatcher III
		John Major MP for Huntingdon (born 1943) Premiership	28 November 1990	2 May 1997	6 years, 156 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Major I
						1992			Major II
		Tony Blair MP for Sedgefield (born 1953) Premiership	2 May 1997	27 June 2007	10 years, 57 days	1997	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Labour	Blair I
						2001			Blair II
						2005			Blair III
		Gordon Brown MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (born 1951) Premiership	27 June 2007	11 May 2010	2 years, 319 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		Brown
		David Cameron MP for Witney (born 1966) Premiership	11 May 2010	13 July 2016	6 years, 64 days	(2010)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con–Lib.Dem)
						2015			Cameron II
		Theresa May MP for Maidenhead (born 1956) Premiership	13 July 2016	24 July 2019	3 years, 12 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service		May I
						(2017)			May II (DUP confidence & supply)
		Boris Johnson MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (born 1964) Premiership	24 July 2019	6 September 2022	3 years, 45 days	(—)	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Johnson I (DUP confidence & supply)
						2019			Johnson II
		Liz Truss MP for South West Norfolk (born 1975) Premiership	6 September 2022	25 October 2022	50 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Truss
										Charles III r. 2022–present
		Rishi Sunak MP for Richmond (Yorks) (born 1980) Premiership	25 October 2022	5 July 2024	1 year, 255 days	—	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union		Sunak
		Keir Starmer MP for Holborn and St Pancras (born 1962) Premiership	5 July 2024	Incumbent	175 days	2024	First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service Minister for the Union	Labour	Starmer

Due to the gradual evolution of the post of prime minister, the title is applied to early prime ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath and James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave are sometimes listed as prime ministers. Bath was invited to form a ministry by George II when Henry Pelham resigned in 1746, as was Waldegrave in 1757 after the dismissal of William Pitt the Elder, who dominated the affairs of government during the Seven Years' War. Neither was able to command sufficient parliamentary support to form a government; Bath stepped down after two days and Waldegrave after four. Modern academic consensus does not consider either man to have held office as prime minister; they are therefore listed separately.

List of disputed prime ministers of the United Kingdom since 1721

Portrait		Prime minister Office (Lifespan)	Term of office			Mandate	Ministerial offices held as prime minister	Party	Government	Monarch Reign
			Start	End	Duration
​		William Pulteney   1st Earl of Bath (1684–1764)	10 February 1746	12 February 1746	3 days	–	First Lord of the Treasury	Whig	Short Lived	George II r. 1727–1760
		James Waldegrave   2nd Earl Waldegrave (1715–1763)	8 June 1757	12 June 1757	5 days	–	First Lord of the Treasury		Waldegrave

• "Past Prime Ministers". Gov.uk. UK Government. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008.
• "Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline". History. BBC. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.