WORST PM in History

I've got go to be honest, this thread will probably end up being "worst PM since WWII" and not of all time - we've had over 50 Prime Ministers dating back to the 17th century, but I guarantee there will only be a handful of PMs listed in this thread. But that's certainly understandable - just thought I'd throw it out there since it's not strictly the worst PM 'in history'. Also, it's going to be pretty hard to decide because of the disparity between PMs terms e.g Arthur Bonar-Law was in office for only a few months compared to Tony Blair who surpassed 10 years.

Anyway, I'm going to have to go for Margaret Thatcher. I'm basing my choice how she left the country compared to what it was like before her tenure. I don't think it's a cop-out answer at all. I describe Thatcher as economically belligerent, socially destructive and morally repulsive. I genuinely despise almost everything she represented.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 21

Smushy

12

You know you should pay more attention to politics when you think worst PM refers to worst private message. :/

Reply 22

455409

17

Original post by Smushy

You know you should pay more attention to politics when you think worst PM refers to worst private message. :/

I love your username, man.

Reply 23

455409

17

Original post by arson_fire

Except we couldn`t get it out the ground at anything approaching a reasonable price. It`s incredibly selfish to expect everyone else to pay inflated fuel bills to keep a few miners in a loss-making job.

That was simply never true. Thatcher allowed British Coal to flood and decay their mines to "prove" they weren't cost efficient anymore.

Granted the industry had to modernise and pump money into research but the fact remains it's a waste of resources.

Reply 24

Smushy

12

Original post by james1211

I love your username, man.

Thanks!

Reply 25

Aj12

18

Original post by caravaggio2

Neville Chamberlin.
A weak appeaser who lacked utterly the forsight of others around him.
Though I have to feel sorry for him. He passed away in May 1940, only months after Churchill took over from him and must have died thinking that not only had he failed, but we were about to be over run by Germans.

I think that's a bit unfair and saying the men around him had foresight is being overly generous. Most of the British public at the time agreed with appeasement. Had we attempted to go to war with Germany before Poland I imagine the government would have been disposed. Plus he did also start a program of rearmament.

Reply 26

WeeGuy

13

Original post by PKD

Thatcher dragged the British economy into turmoil. Destroyed the lives of miners and prolonged the problems in Northern Ireland to a degree.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Tony Blair

I'm shocked I'm the first one to say this

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 29

Rakas21

21

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

Following the Greatest PM in History thread, who do you think has been the worst PM Britain has ever had...?

Spoiler

We have many post war candidates..

Brown - Utterly incompetent
Callaghan - A very weak PM, he puts Cameron to shame on that score.

Pre WW2 then Asquith gets a shout for betraying the Liberals to the left, Gladstone must have been ill at the thought.

Reply 30

ottom

8

This (ahem) 'award' cannot go to any post-war PM, nor any PM of the 20th century (in my opinion). Sure, you had Brown (lousy economic management and corruption from within his own ranks), Callaghan (electorally ruined his own party for nearly two decades by not keeping the unions at bay), Eden (Suez and general uselessness) and Chamberlain (appeasement), as well as a couple of historical footnotes such as Douglas-Home and Bonar Law. If you're a tribalist or a hack, then Attlee would be a contender from a right-wing point of view (for the creation of the welfare state and the mixed economy) and Thatcher from a left-wing one (for undoing most of Attlee's work).

But, for all of their many faults, none of the above were actively tyrannical. The same cannot be said for the ghastly Lord Liverpool (PM 1812-1827).

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 31

Rakas21

21

Original post by ottom

This (ahem) 'award' cannot go to any post-war PM, nor any PM of the 20th century (in my opinion). Sure, you had Brown (lousy economic management and corruption from within his own ranks), Callaghan (electorally ruined his own party for nearly two decades by not keeping the unions at bay), Eden (Suez and general uselessness) and Chamberlain (appeasement), as well as a couple of historical footnotes such as Douglas-Home and Bonar Law. If you're a tribalist or a hack, then Attlee would be a contender from a right-wing point of view (for the creation of the welfare state and the mixed economy) and Thatcher from a left-wing one (for undoing most of Attlee's work).

But, for all of their many faults, none of the above were actively tyrannical. The same cannot be said for the ghastly Lord Liverpool (PM 1812-1827).

Anything interesting surrounding what he did for those of us who are not students of history?

Reply 32

ottom

8

Original post by Rakas21

Anything interesting surrounding what he did for those of us who are not students of history?

He did many things, but the most repulsive were these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Acts

Reply 33

Rakas21

21

Original post by ottom

He did many things, but the most repulsive were these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Acts

I'm not sure the arms and court act look that bad (though I'm sure the police can search for weapons now?) but the other four are pretty bad. Smells a lot like Russia or China today.

WORST PM in History

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