Who would you say have been the best British PMs of the last 60 years?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

This thought was prompted by the thread quoting a labour candidate saying that Brown was the worst PM ever.

The depressing thing to me is that I think Brown is actually one of the best, or at least least worst, PMs Britain has had since Atlee (the only other possibly candidates I can see being Wilson, Heath and Blair).

Yes, I think there is a lot to dislike about Brown. But I think criticism of him gets onto much shakier ground when it moves from the absolute to the comparative.

[miscsoc]

1. yes, the thing is that he probably is up there

when you think about it. I suppose Macmillan wasn't terrible either.

[LeftishBrit]

2. Clem Attlee the best by far...

followed some way down by Harold Wilson.

Followed quite a lot further down by Brown (yes!) and Macmillan.

Then Callaghan (or maybe he should be in the previous category). Then Heath.

The rest are nowhere or worse. We're talking about post-1950, so Churchill, though an outstanding wartime Prime Minister, was not much good domestically. Eden got us into the Suez mess. Home was an anachronism from the days when being the umpteenth Earl of Plumshire was the main qualification for office. Blair was a right-winger in Labour clothing and a warmonger, and Thatcher was Thatcher. Oh, I forgot Major, as one does. Not as evil as some Tories, but an incompetent leader.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. I think you underrate Blair and overrate Callaghan.

While there's a good deal on the debit side of Blair's ledger - most notably Iraq, erosion of civil liberties and overreliance on targets and market forces to deliver public services - there's also a fair amount on the credit side - Kosovo, big advances gay rights, crackdown on police "institutional racism", increases in aid to the third world*, and most strikingly the fact that he left the public services far stronger than he found them (although not nearly as strong as he could have done if he hadn't felt the need to keep the targets culture in place). Oh, and he banned foxhunting, if you give a damn about that (I don't).

Callaghan was a well-intentioned PM, but I don't think he achieved much, if anything.

I don't know much about MacMillan, but from the very little I do know it mildly surprises me that you rate him highly.

In a list of best prime ministers of the last 60 years, I'm afraid Atlee doesn't even get a look-in...




*I think - I haven't checked this one, but IIRC it's the case.

[LeftishBrit]

6. You really think *Attlee* doesn't get a look-in?

Or were you intending to say Callaghan?

I'm not a wild fan of Callaghan (or Macmillan, whom I wouldn't even have voted for); but when you compare him to what replaced him!!!

ETA: Or are you using 'in the last 60 years' to mean that they must have *begun* their term less than 60 years ago?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

7. Atlee left power in 1950, didn't he?

Certainly the question was meant to be phrased so as to deliberately exclude him, because I took it for granted everyone would agree on him.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. 1951, so he squeaks in, technically (nt)

[T_i_B]

3. It annoys me when I hear people describe Brown as our "worst ever PM"

As it shows that whoever is saying that is totally ignorant of British history.

Brown has been a mediocre Prime Minister at best, but for the very worst Prime Minister's you have to look to the likes of the Earl of Liverpool and Lord North.

As to the best post war PM? Atlee by a considerable distance.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

5. Hence 60 years - everyone will agree about Atlee.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

9. Edit Deadline Expired. Please make that 59 years, not 60

I meant to exclude Attlee, because I assumed everyone would agree about him, and I thought he left power in 50 rather than 51.

[LeftishBrit]

10. In that case - Harold Wilson, no contest.

Not an outstanding Prime Minister but a good one.