David Cameron’s recent appointment as foreign secretary raised eyebrows among politicians and public alike. But, as RICHARD TOYE explains, he’s far from the first former prime minister to enjoy a post-number-10 cabinet career
Richard Toye is professor of history at the University of Exeter. You can read his article about the first Labour government on page 32
BEHIND THE NEWS
Rishi Sunak’s decision to appoint David Cameron as foreign secretary on 13 November sparked widespread surprise – even shock. This was partly because Cameron’s time in number 10 Downing Street left a controversial legacy – including the fallout from the Brexit referendum – from which Sunak had earlier distanced himself in an effort to present himself as the ‘change’ candidate. But it was also because today we don’t usually expect former prime ministers to return from the political grave. Yet there are plenty of examples from earlier eras of ex-PMs who, having seemingly left the limelight, went on to enjoy successful second acts.
The first point to note is that a significant number of premiers, having lost office once, returned as prime minister. The first holder of that role is generally considered to have been Robert Walpole, who acted as de-facto PM between 1721 and 1742. Of the 56 men and women who have followed him, 17 had two or more non-consecutive terms; 15 of these having held office before 1940. In the period before universal suffrage was achieved in 1928, changes of government often hinged less on the vicissitudes of public opinion than on the shifting balance of forces within parliament, and sometimes on the monarch’s relationship with the resident of number 10. A prime minister who lost power was not necessarily terminally discredited; it could make sense for them to bide time, waiting for the chance to return.
For example, William Pitt the Younger served from 1783 to 1801, then again from 1804 to 1806, when he died in office. Lord John Russell established the record for the longest gap between prime ministerial terms, serving 1846–52 and again 1865–66. The only prime minister to have served four non-consecutive terms (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886 and 1892–94) was William Ewart Gladstone. In the modern era, Winston Churchill was defeated in the general election of July 1945 and lost a further election in 1950 but won the following year, serving as PM until his retirement in 1955. Harold Wilson was the last to serve non-consecutive terms, in 1964–70 and 1974–76. Given the turmoil
