Why do British prime ministers have such a short shelf-life?

About this episode

The episode discusses the short tenure of British prime ministers, focusing on Starmer's leadership crisis and the factors contributing to political disenchantment in the UK.

Reunited in the studio to compare notes in the middle of Starmer's leadership crisis, the team ask what has gone wrong in less than two years. Is this story of disenchantment a uniquely Labour one? Is it all about the electoral pressures on the party, Starmer’s mistakes, or has the UK developed an allergy to incumbents? Plus: Gordon Brown's surprise comeback under the spotlight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve Richards, Miranda Green, Tim Montgomerie, Iain Martin

Topics covered

• British politics
• leadership crisis
• Labour party
• incumbency
• electoral pressures

Keywords

• British prime ministers
• Starmer
• Labour party
• Gordon Brown
• leadership crisis
• political disenchantment
• incumbents

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour

Places: UK

More episodes of Not Another One

• Was the June 2016 Brexit referendum inevitable? · June 10, 2026 · 53 min
• Will revulsion at the Nowak murder feed a divisive political fight? · June 3, 2026 · 42 min
• What on earth was going on in the Scottish National Party? · May 27, 2026 · 55 min
• Will Labour's leadership hopefuls grapple with the UK's real problems? · May 20, 2026 · 40 min
• Will Andy Burnham make it to Downing Street? · May 16, 2026 · 55 min
• What is behind the UK's transformed electoral landscape? · May 4, 2026 · 47 min