Johnson resignation means UK has six living ex-prime ministers for first time
The number of surviving former PMs has doubled in the past 15 years.
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK has six living ex-prime ministers for the first time in modern history.
Boris Johnson’s resignation on Tuesday means he joins Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major in what has become a fast-expanding group of former PMs.
The number of surviving ex-prime ministers has doubled in the past 15 years.
When Gordon Brown became prime minister in 2007, only three of his predecessors in the role were still alive: Tony Blair, John Major and Margaret Thatcher.
The increase reflects both the rapid turnover of prime ministers in recent years and the age of those who have held the office.
Of the six living ex-prime ministers, two are still under 60: Boris Johnson, aged 58, and David Cameron, 55.
Another two are still below 70: Tony Blair, 69, and Theresa May, 65.
Gordon Brown is 71 and John Major is 79.
There have been several occasions when the UK has had five living ex-prime ministers, most recently when Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as PM in 2019.
When Labour lost the 1979 general election, Jim Callaghan became number five in a group that also contained Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Macmillan.
The UK also had five living ex-PMs for a short period at the end of 1964: Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Macmillan, Anthony Eden, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee.
With the next general election due no later than January 2025, a Conservative defeat at the polls could see today’s group grow even further, from six to seven.
The current prime minister, Liz Truss, is 47.