A01=Mark Garnett
Author_Mark Garnett
Boris Johnson
Brexit referendum
Category=JPHF
Category=JPHL
Category=JPL
Conservative Party
David Cameron
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
European Union
Gordon Brown
House of Commons
John Major
Liz Truss
New Labour
parliament
party leadership
premiership
Rishi Sunak
Theresa May
Tony Blair
Product details
- ISBN 9781788218696
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 20 Nov 2025
- Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Even before Boris Johnson’s rollercoaster ride (2019–22), and the ensuing “blink and you missed it” premiership of Liz Truss, the high wastage-rate among Britain’s prime ministers was becoming a cause for concern. Between 1979 and 2007 Britain had just three heads of government: Margaret Thatcher (1979–90), John Major (1990–97) and Tony Blair (1997–2007). Over the next 17 years six politicians followed them in and out of Downing Street.
This book, which straddles more than 30 years of prime ministerial misadventures, poses questions about the underlying factors as well as the specific circumstances for individual departures. Is the role of prime minister just becoming too difficult to perform successfully? If so, why? Has there been a decline in calibre in the candidates holding office? In exploring how the famous entrance to number 10 Downing Street has become a revolving door, the book shines a fresh light on the nature of politics and political office in the UK today.
Mark Garnett is a writer and political historian who has taught at several UK universities. He has written widely on Brtitish politics, including acclaimed biographies of Tory grandees, Keith Joseph and Willie Whitelaw.
