How many Prime Ministers has the UK had as Liz Truss resigns?

There has been a long history of notable names in Number 10 (Pictures: Getty)

Britain is set to have yet another new leader in the coming days, as Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister after just 44 days in office – making her the shortest-serving PM in history.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street as she confirmed her intention to stand down, Ms Truss said: ‘I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this, we delivered on energy bills and on cutting National Insurance.

‘And we set out a vision for a low-tax high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.

‘I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.

‘I have therefore spoken to his Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.

Ms Truss took over as PM on September 6 following Boris Johnson’s resignation – but how many Prime Ministers has the UK seen, and who are they?

Here is the comprehensive list, dating back to Sir Robert Walpole.

How many Prime Ministers has the UK had?

The UK has seen a grand total of 80 Prime Ministers since 1721, 15 of which served during Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

All the UK Prime Ministers to date

Modern historians generally consider Sir Robert Walpole, who led the government of Great Britain for over twenty years from 1721, as the first prime minister.

10 Downing street, the official office and HQ of the British Prime Minister since 1721 (Picture: EPA)

It was Walpole who began the tradition of Number 10 being passed from one PM to the next as their home and office, as he insisted that the now famous address become the residence of the person in the role, rather than being given to him personally.

Walpole was a representative of the Whig political party, which dominated 18th Century politics.

18th Century Prime Ministers

Sir Robert Walpole (Whig) – 1721 to 1742

Although the title was never used to refer to him at the time, Walpole is regarded as Britain’s first Prime Minister (Picture: The Print Collector / Getty)

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (Whig) – 1742 to 1743Henry Pelham (Whig) – 1743 to 1754Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (Whig) – 1754 to 1756William Cavendish Duke of Devonshire (Whig) – 1756 to 1757Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (Whig) – 1757 to 1762John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (Tory) – 1762 to 1763George Grenville (Whig) – 1763 to 1765Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (Whig) – 1765 to 1766William Pitt ‘The Elder’, 1st Earl of Chatham (Whig) – 1766 to 1768Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (Whig) – 1768 to 1770Lord Frederick North (Tory) – 1770 to 1782Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (Whig) – 1782 to 1782William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (Whig) – 1782 to 1783William Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland (Whig) – 1783 to 1783

William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister at the age of 24, making him the youngest to hold the office in British history. (Picture: The Print Collector / Getty Images)

William Pitt ‘The Younger’ (Tory and Whig) – 1783 to 1801

19th Century Prime Ministers

Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (Tory) – 1801 to 1804William Pitt ‘The Younger’ (Tory and Whig) – 1804 to 1806William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (Whig) – 1806 to 1807William Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland (Whig) – 1807 to 1809Spencer Perceval (Tory) – 1809 to 1812Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool (Conservative) – 1812 to 1827George Canning (Tory) – 1827 to 1827Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich (Tory) – 1827 to 1828Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (Tory) – 1828 to 1830Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Whig) – 1830 to 1834William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Whig) – 1834 to 1834Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (Tory) – 1834 to 1834

Sir Robert Peel was voted into office twice (Picture: Print Collector / Getty Images)

Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (Conservative) – 1834 to 1835William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Whig) – 1835 to 1841Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (Conservative) – 1841 to 1846Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (Whig) – 1846 to 1852Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (Tory and Whig) – 1852 to 1852George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (Conservative) – 1852 to 1855Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (Whig and Liberal) – 1855 to 1858

Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley resigned from Lord Melbourne’s government in 1834 and later joined the Conservatives (Picture: Mayall / Getty Images)

Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (Tory and Whig) – 1858 to 1859Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (Whig and Liberal) – 1859 to 1865Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (Whig) – 1865 to 1866Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (Tory and Whig) – 1866 to 1868Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield (Conservative) – 1868 to 1868William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) – 1868 to 1874Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield (Conservative) – 1874 to 1880William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) – 1880 to 1885

Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil was elected PM three times (Picture: Apic / Getty Images)

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative) – 1885 to 1886William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) – 1886 to 1886Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative) – 1886 to 1892William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) – 1892 to 1894Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (Liberal) – 1894 to 1895Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative) – 1895 to 1902

20th and 21st Century Prime Ministers

Arthur James Balfour (Conservative) – 1902 to 1905Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal) – 1905 to 1908Herbert Henry Asquith (Liberal) – 1908 to 1916David Lloyd George (Liberal) – 1916 to 1922

British statesman David Lloyd-George, leader of the Liberal Party (Picture: Getty Images)

Andrew Bonar Law (Conservative) – 1922 to 1923Stanley Baldwin (Conservative) – 1923 to 1924James Ramsay MacDonald (Labour) – 1924 to 1924Stanley Baldwin (Conservative) – 1924 to 1929James Ramsay MacDonald (Labour) – 1929 to 1935Stanley Baldwin (Conservative) – 1935 to 1937

Portrait of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Picture: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Neville Chamberlain (Conservative) – 1937 to 1940Sir Winston Churchill (Conservative) – 1940 to 1945Clement Attlee (Labour) – 1945 to 1951Sir Winston Churchill (Conservative) – 1951 to 1955

Winston Churchill gives his famous v-sign as he opens the new headquarters of 615 Squadron of the RAAF (Picture: Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Sir Anthony Eden (Conservative) – 1955 to 1957Harold Macmillan (Conservative) – 1957 to 1963Sir Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative) – 1963 to 1964Harold Wilson (Labour) – 1964 to 1970Sir Edward Heath (Conservative) – 1970 to 1974

Harold Wilson makes a speech at the Labour Party annual conference in Scarborough in October 1967. (Picture: Rolls Press / Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Harold Wilson (Labour) – 1974 to 1976James Callaghan (Labour) – 1976 to 1979Baroness Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) – 1979 to 1990The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH (Conservative) – 1990 to 1997The Rt Hon Tony Blair (Labour) – 1997 to 2007

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves The Royal Courts of Justice by a side door after giving evidence to The Leveson Inquiry (Picture: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

The Rt Hon Gordon Brown (Labour) – 2007 to 2010The Rt Hon David Cameron (Conservative) – 2010 to 2016The Rt Hon Theresa May MP (Conservative) – 2016 to 2019

Liz Truss lasted just 44 days in office (Picture: PA)

Boris Johnson (Conservative) – 2019 to 2022Liz Truss (Conservative) – September 2022 to October 2022

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The role dates back to 1721.