INTRODUCTION
The following charts show the region of birth of British Prime Ministers. Different regions produce Prime Ministers at a different rate and this depends on time and party. It shows where power is concentrated, the political culture of different regions. The table below shows information about about 20th and 21st century Prime Ministers including their degree, pre-political occupation and place of birth.
Charts
1. Mori / University of Leeds Academic Rating of British Prime Ministers 1895-2004
2. Region of Birth of British Prime Ministers
3. Number of Prime Ministers by Party and Region
4. Number of Prime Ministers by Region and Period
5. List of Living Former Prime Ministers by Popularity
Data Table
6. 20th/21st Century British Prime Ministers by Party, Region of Birth, Degree and Other Occupation(s)
The chart presents MORI/University of Leeds academic ratings of British Prime Ministers from 1895 to 2004. Clement Attlee ranks highest, reflecting his transformative post-war government, which established the National Health Service, expanded the welfare state, and oversaw major nationalisations. Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George also score highly due to their leadership during wartime and periods of reform.
At the lower end, Anthony Eden receives the weakest rating, largely because of the 1956 Suez Crisis, which damaged Britain’s international standing and curtailed his premiership. Overall, Conservative Prime Ministers appear more frequently toward the lower half of the rankings, suggesting weaker average evaluations compared to Labour and Liberal leaders. Labour figures, particularly Attlee and Harold Wilson, perform strongly, while Liberal leaders also rank relatively well. The chart therefore indicates that, in academic assessments, Labour and Liberal Prime Ministers tend to receive higher average historical evaluations than their Conservative counterparts.
London, which has been the centre of political power in the UK for centuries, is by far the leading region of birth of UK Prime Ministers with 31% of all Prime Ministers born in London. This is well ahead of it’s share of the UK population over the period. This was particularly true before the 20th century when it was the region of birth of 41% of Prime Ministers. Pre-20th century Britain was even more centred around London than today. As ease of travel has increased in the 20th century, more Prime Ministers have been born outside of London. Only 1 of the last 9 Prime Ministers, David cameron, was born in London.
There were 20 British Prime Ministers in the 19th century. 10 were born in London. In the first half of the 19th century, the Tory and Whig party were dominant. In the 2nd half, the Conservative (now often called Tories) and Liberal Party became dominant.
In the 20th century, Scotland and the Southeast have overtaken London as the region of birth of most Prime Ministers. Both of the last 2 Labour Prime Ministers, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, were born in Scotland although Tony Blair was primarily raised in England. The majority of 20th/21st century Scottish born Prime Ministers are from the Labour Party. Quite remarkably, there has yet to be a British Prime Minister born in Wales. David Lloyd George is generally regarded as a Welshman though. Although he was born in Manchester, his parents were Welsh and spoke Welsh as a first language. There has also yet to be a Prime Minister born in Northern Ireland. However, 2 Prime Ministers were born in Ireland during the 19th century when the whole of Ireland was part of the UK. They were William Petty and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
The wealthy Southeast region has been by far the most common region of birth of Prime Ministers after the second world war. 5 out of 13 postwar Prime Ministers were born in the Southeast. This reflects the often mentioned complaint that there is too much power in the Southeast of England. 4 of the Prime Ministers born in the Southeast were from the Conservative party which reflects their strength in the region. Britain’s most famous Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was born in the Southeast at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Notable is the lack of Prime Ministers born in the north of England. A significantly larger percentage of Prime Ministers were born in the Northwest before the turn of the 20th century compared to after, including William Gladstone. 2 Prime Ministers have been born outside the UK, both in North America. The current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was born in New York City, USA. The other was Bonar Law, a Tory Prime Minister between 1922 and 1923, who was born in Canada. Both moved to the UK as children.
Note: Although Robert Gascoyne-Cecil completed the last of his 3 terms in 1902, he is counted as a pre-20th century Prime Minister since he served the vast majority of his nearly 14 years as PM in the 19th century.
Clement Attlee was Labour Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951. He was born in Putney, Surrey. Presiding over the creation of the modern welfare state including the NHS, he is considered to be one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers.
Tony Blair was Labour Prime Minister from from 1997 to 2007. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland although he grew up in England. He is considered to be one of the most influential Prime Ministers of all time.
6. 20th/21st Century British Prime Ministers by Party, Region of Birth, Degree and Other Occupation(s)
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Charts created using OpenOffice Calc.