Prime Ministers Tracked
8
Blair through Starmer, 1997–2026
Years of Data
29
Complete record from all public sources
Average Pledge Score
43%
Across all PMs (kept + partial combined)
Methodology: Same standards for all PMs, regardless of party. Kept = verified by official data. Broken = official data contradicts pledge. Partial = delivered in part or significantly watered down. No editorial framing, only data.
Why Compare Prime Ministers?
Voters deserve a full historical record, not just the current news cycle. By comparing every PM across the same metrics — pledge delivery, economic performance, crisis response, electoral success — we can see patterns. Which policies actually worked? Which promises were broken? What can we learn from the past to evaluate the present?
Longevity matters: Tony Blair's 10-year tenure is not directly comparable to Liz Truss's 49 days in scope, but both their records are important. We track both time-based metrics (annual growth) and absolute outcomes (did they meet their pledge?).
Party affiliation is irrelevant to the data. Labour and Conservative have both succeeded and failed on different metrics. Voters should judge based on outcomes, not tribal loyalty.
COMPLETE COMPARISON TABLE: EVERY PM SINCE 1997
| Prime Minister |
Party |
Years |
Pledges Tracked |
Broken |
Kept |
Partial |
Score |
Peak Approval |
Economy Verdict |
Legacy Rating |
| Tony Blair |
Labour |
10 yrs
(1997–2007) |
62 |
22 |
28 |
12 |
45% |
+61
(1997) |
Strong growth |
MIXED — Iraq |
| Gordon Brown |
Labour |
3 yrs
(2007–2010) |
40 |
15 |
18 |
7 |
45% |
+10
(2007) |
Financial crisis |
MIXED — Crisis mgr |
| David Cameron |
Conservative |
6 yrs
(2010–2016) |
45 |
18 |
20 |
7 |
44% |
+20
(2010) |
Austerity/recovery |
MIXED — EU gamble |
| Theresa May |
Conservative |
3 yrs
(2016–2019) |
38 |
16 |
15 |
7 |
39% |
+6
(2017) |
Brexit uncertainty |
POOR — No majority |
| Boris Johnson |
Conservative |
3 yrs
(2019–2022) |
38 |
24 |
8 |
6 |
21% |
+29
(2019) |
COVID/post-COVID |
POOR — Partygate |
| Liz Truss |
Conservative |
49 days
(2022) |
12 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
8% |
−9
(2022) |
Mini-budget crash |
CRISIS — Shortest PM |
| Rishi Sunak |
Conservative |
2 yrs
(2022–2024) |
28 |
11 |
12 |
5 |
43% |
−5
(2022) |
Inflation crisis |
MIXED — 5 pledges |
| Keir Starmer |
Labour |
Ongoing
(2024–) |
10 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
20% |
−66
(Feb 2026) |
Near-stagnation |
TOO EARLY |
KEY RECORDS & STATISTICS
Most pledge-keeping PMs
Tony Blair & Gordon Brown — 45% average score
Lowest pledge score
Liz Truss — 8% in 49 days
Most pledges broken
Boris Johnson — 24 broken promises
Longest serving
Tony Blair — 3,651 days (10 years)
Biggest election majority
Tony Blair 1997 — 179 seats
Shortest tenure
Liz Truss — 49 days (shortest in UK history)
Highest approval rating
Tony Blair +61 (June 1997, ICM polling)
Lowest approval rating
Keir Starmer −66 (Feb 2026, Ipsos — lowest on record)
Peak inflation under PM
Liz Truss era — 11.1% (Oct 2022)
Worst NHS waiting list
Rishi Sunak — 7.54M (Sept 2024)
Most nurses hired promise
Boris Johnson — 50k pledge (partially met)
Best economic growth year
Tony Blair 1999 — 3.6% real GDP growth
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Data Sources & Methodology
All data from: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Parliament.uk Hansard, Ipsos political monitor, ICM polling archive, NHS England official reports, Electoral Commission, House of Commons Library. Pledge tracking uses identical criteria for all PMs regardless of party affiliation. Polling approval ratings from Ipsos MORI political monitor (standard series since 1997). Economic data from ONS and BoE official releases. All figures publicly available and cross-referenced. Last updated 22 March 2026.