Who do you think is worst Prime Minister Britain has had ?

Original post by Trotsky's Iceaxe

May has repeatedly made bad decisions, lost control of party discipline, suffered the worst parliamentary defeat in history and, if reports of her conduct behind closed doors are true, will be eviscerated in future cabinet autobiographies.

That’s not someone who is the victim of her circumstances, that is someone who is a rank bad leader.

Haven't heard about this conduct behind closed doors. But parliamentary defeat was always going to be on the cards, even one as bad as this. Party discipline was destroyed upon the UK agreeing to leave the EU, no the leader could stop this, especially considering the hung parliament. None of the options she has had were good, bad decisions are probably the best of a bad bunch

Reply 41

HighOnGoofballs

16

Original post by That'sGreat

Haven't heard about this conduct behind closed doors. But parliamentary defeat was always going to be on the cards, even one as bad as this. Party discipline was destroyed upon the UK agreeing to leave the EU, no the leader could stop this, especially considering the hung parliament. None of the options she has had were good, bad decisions are probably the best of a bad bunch

hmmm...i wonder why she had a hung parliament in the first place...

Reply 42

That'sGreat

21

Original post by HighOnGoofballs

hmmm...i wonder why she had a hung parliament in the first place...

Fair point, but I would argue that's more down to her PR team being crap. This idea is evidenced by the last Conservative conference, where apparently walking on stage like a cyborg with IBS to the song 'Dancing Queen' was considered a good PR move

Reply 43

BlueIndigoViolet

19

David Cameron - pandered to the right of the Conservatives, and called a referendum...

have more respect for Theresa May piecing together his shambles and the catastrophe that is Brexit

Reply 44

ColinDent

14

Original post by BlueIndigoViolet

David Cameron - pandered to the right of the Conservatives, and called a referendum...

have more respect for Theresa May piecing together his shambles and the catastrophe that is Brexit

David Cameron responded to a movement against the EU, not the right of his party, his response proved to be worthless because the EU is a beaurocratic juggernaut that's heading towards a one nation state, some of you are fine with that idea, some of you think it's a betrayal of what we rightfully voted for in 2016.
Btw I would have more respect for Mr Corbyn if he would have stuck to his principles and come out in favour of leave.

Reply 45

Burton Bridge

15

Original post by ColinDent

Btw I would have more respect for Mr Corbyn if he would have stuck to his principles and come out in favour of leave.

Plus 1

Reply 46

McCormick02

9

Original post by Ray_Shadows

So while i'm coming to the end of the A-level history course (Studying the making of modern Britain 1951-2007) it makes me wonder who does everyone think was the worst Prime minister Britain has ever had .

Personally I think it was Anthony Eden mainly because of how bad the Suez Crisis went.

What do you think (PS a reason as to why you think that might help me wiht reivsion, so pls say why :biggrin:

)

One commonly-touted example is Lord North, who in 1776 took most of the blame for the loss of the American colonies -- many other PMs with a negative reputation -- such as Chamberlain, Eden, MacMillain, Heath -- are compared to him in an attempt to determine who was the "worst". Of course, Cameron and May might well go on to join this group in years to come. Much of this will depend on the eventual outcome of Brexit; furthermore, as the campaign for Scottish independence gains momentum, if a "Yes" vote does happen under May's watch, then she may well go on to surpass Lord North, having lost leverage over (other) EU states and Scotland as well.

Reply 47

helpneeded24s

2

Another **** Prime Minister during the Period of 1951- 2007 is John Major and Winston Churchill who would prefer to go on holidays rather than enforcing new policies and helping the economy. Major was just boring and the wrong Prime Minister after Thatcher as he did not impose the same power as the Ironwoman.

Reply 48

Arran90

20

In my lifetime Britain has had:

Margaret Thatcher - possibly the most controversial PM of all times.

John Major Cockup - he was hapless, inept, a weak leader, and simply not cut out for PM, as well as being as dull as ditchwater. Resulted in a complete meltdown for the Conservatives in the 1997 general election and a landslide victory for Labour.

Tony Bliar - a sleazy crooked enigma of a person, and warmongerer. Responsible for the rise of the BNP between 1997 and 2010 into a serious political force, followed by Nigel Farage and Brexit.

Gordon Clown - had the charisma of a rusty sardine tin and was handed a toxic asset (NuLab during its twilight years) so may have been judged unfairly during his relatively short term as PM.

David Camoron - An arrogant and contemptible public school snob who was clearly picked as leader to outBlair Blair at a time when Blairism had already waned with the public and they wanted another Enoch Powell.

Theresa May - The Wicked Witch of Maidenhead. I don't trust such a staunch Remainer presiding over Brexit. I might have forgiven many of her shortcomings had she not been stupid enough to hold the snap general election in 2017 and shoot herself in the foot by losing her party's majority in Parliament.

Reply 49

Arran90

20

Nobody has mentioned James Callaghan, who is largely remembered for the Winter of Discontent, or Ted 'the traitor' Heath who took Britain into the EU back in 1973 and lied to the nation about it only being a trading arrangement whilst fully well knowing it was on the road to becoming a superstate.

I did that course two years ago :ahee:

Reply 51

Arran90

20

Could anybody really admire David Cameron as PM? He will only be remembered for (ideological?) austerity and the EU Referendum which produced the result he didn't want.

Somehow I struggle to see good in this man. John Major was an crass and inept PM but I think he would be a nice man to have as your next door neighbour. I can't say the same about David Cameron.

Reply 52

Bashtopher

9

It's crazy to say Tony Blair was one of the worst PMs. I'm no fan, and Iraq was certainly illegal and a mistake, but what about the Human Rights Act, the Good Friday Agreement, devolution of powers, Sure Start etc. People forget the good Blair's government did because of Iraq.

Chamberlain is among the worst for appeasing. Cameron is one of the worst for putting party above country and delivering the EU referendum. May is the worst in terms of actually getting things done. Thatcher is possibly worst of all since she began the housing crisis and is responsible (alongside Reagan) for the international neo-liberal economy.

Reply 53

ThePootisPower

10

Theresa May. Just... wow. How do you screw Brexit up THAT bad? This government is a car crash in slow motion - it's like I'm watching May fly through a windshield hollering "STRONG AND STABLE" as she tumbles end over end, landing head-first into a ditch.

Reply 54

Arran90

20

Original post by Bashtopher

It's crazy to say Tony Blair was one of the worst PMs. I'm no fan, and Iraq was certainly illegal and a mistake, but what about the Human Rights Act, the Good Friday Agreement, devolution of powers, Sure Start etc. People forget the good Blair's government did because of Iraq.

A lot of the problems that affects the younger generation have their roots in the NuLab era.

University tuition fees.

Skyrocketing house prices - look at house prices back in 1997 and also take into account that housing was a minor issue in the run up to the 1997 general election.

The buy to let craze - this is the most prominent factor that has driven up house prices to what they are today.

A general lack of investment in the productive economy.

Manufacturing declined at a higher level than during the Thatcher decade.

Stealth taxes and a large increase in the price of petrol.

No attempts to curtail many of the worst effects of Thatcherism.

Mass immigration of eastern Europeans taking jobs and houses that could go to the native population.

Selling off the nation's gold reserves at a time when gold prices were low.

Creating a big brother state - snooping on communications etc.

These are just for starters...

With hindsight, I can't help wondering if NuLab sacrificed the well being and the future of the millennials for the baby boomer generation. It's well accepted that NuLab was designed to appeal more to different socioeconomic demographics than old Labour was, but could it have actually been designed to appeal more to what was then the middle-aged age group instead?

My mother thinks that Blair appointed numerous mediocre or incompetent cabinet ministers during his tenure as PM - Tony's Cronies. I have a belief that the type of people one associates with says a lot about a person, and often reveals their true nature that they do not always display on their own.

Reply 55

Bashtopher

9

Original post by Arran90

A lot of the problems that affects the younger generation have their roots in the NuLab era.

University tuition fees.

Skyrocketing house prices - look at house prices back in 1997 and also take into account that housing was a minor issue in the run up to the 1997 general election.

The buy to let craze - this is the most prominent factor that has driven up house prices to what they are today.

A general lack of investment in the productive economy.

Manufacturing declined at a higher level than during the Thatcher decade.

Stealth taxes and a large increase in the price of petrol.

No attempts to curtail many of the worst effects of Thatcherism.

Mass immigration of eastern Europeans taking jobs and houses that could go to the native population.

Selling off the nation's gold reserves at a time when gold prices were low.

Creating a big brother state - snooping on communications etc.

These are just for starters...

With hindsight, I can't help wondering if NuLab sacrificed the well being and the future of the millennials for the baby boomer generation. It's well accepted that NuLab was designed to appeal more to different socioeconomic demographics than old Labour was, but could it have actually been designed to appeal more to what was then the middle-aged age group instead?

My mother thinks that Blair appointed numerous mediocre or incompetent cabinet ministers during his tenure as PM - Tony's Cronies. I have a belief that the type of people one associates with says a lot about a person, and often reveals their true nature that they do not always display on their own.

Okay, some valid points, some not so.

University tuition fees are quite appropriate, but they are currently far too high - especially considering the actual quality of education. Up to £3k is realistic to pay back, but the level they are at now is crazy. I think of tuition fee as a tax levied on those that use the service. I don't think society should pay for higher education, and I am pretty left wing!

The housing crisis was initiated by Thatcher. We lost comtrol in the 80s. But every government since then has not improved the situation. It's not really an argument for Blair being the worst ever.

Buy to let mortgages were introduced in 1996 - a year before Blair. That was Major's govt. The roots clearly stem from there. Although the craze peaked in 2005, it would be harsh to associate a craze with Blair. That's like blaming him for yoyos and pogs.

The economy grew at its steadiest rate for 200 years during Blair's tenure.

The stealth taxes people refer to in Blair's time relate to with corporation tax. New Labour reduced corporation tax but brought in more revenue by taxing pensions. They made it more beneficial for companies to put into people's pensions instead of reinvesting in their company, so people got more and companies paid more tax, despite a cut in corporation tax. They did this because, historically, companies were avoiding corporation tax through reinvestment. At the same time they brought 1 million pensioners out of poverty.

On taxes, don't forget they introduced working tax credits, which have been a great innovation (etimated to have got 50,000 single mothers into part-time work).

I'm happy for petrol, cigarettes and alcohol prices to go up perpetually tbh. Better for the planet.

Not going to get into immigration. It's good and necessary for the economy, and is good for the development of progressive social norms. I don't accept the "day tuk are jjeerrbs" argument, nor do I accept the same with housing. If you want to get into it, I will. But I'd rather not since I've find myself only speaking about immigration because of Brexit.

The gold was a bad move, and the snoopers charter was not great either. Totally bad.

Nevertheless, the fact that Blair did not fully counteract Thatcherism does not make him the worst PM. The very premise of your Thatcherism point hints that there was at least one worse PM...! He did a lot of good, outlined above (forgot to include the minimum wage!). Hard to attribute all that good to the worst PM. Also, every cabinet is full of mediocre MPs, it's impossible not to have mediocre players in a governmental team. I couldn't name you one cabinet without someone completely mediocre in it.

Who do you think is worst Prime Minister Britain has had ?

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