Why Britain keeps losing prime ministers
The Global Story
BBC
3.8 • 663 Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the decade since Britain voted to leave the European Union, the country has cycled through six prime ministers, victims of both their own decisions, and global pressures.
Now, Sir Keir Starmer, the current prime minister and leader of the left-leaning Labour party, could be the seventh leader to fall, under pressure from members of his own party who feel he has failed to tackle key issues like the cost of living, immigration, and sluggish economic growth.
To top it off, recent local elections across the country proved disastrous for Labour as it lost ground to populist parties on both the left and right, and only two years after a landslide victory some of Sir Keir’s own party members are calling for him to step down.
How did British politics become so volatile? BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale joins us to explain.
Producers: Hannah Moore and Aron Keller
Executive producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo:Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer makes a statement in number 10 Downing Street, Westminster. Credit: Jack Taylor/PA Wire
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | Why does Britain keep losing its leaders? |
| 0:09.4 | Tristan, that is a question even we here on this side of the Atlantic are asking about British politics. |
| 0:15.8 | And we might not know loads about how your system operates, |
| 0:19.4 | but we've seen you all cycle through six prime ministers |
| 0:22.5 | in 10 years since Brexit. I mean, it's a lot. That's right, Asma. The most stable political |
| 0:28.6 | operator in Downing Street over the last decade may have been a cat called Larry who lives |
| 0:34.3 | there. He's seen quite a few prime ministers come and go, |
| 0:38.3 | and he might seem be seeing a new one. |
| 0:42.3 | I've been reading that the current Prime Minister Kirstarmer |
| 0:45.1 | is under severe pressure from members of his own party |
| 0:48.7 | revolting against him. |
| 0:50.2 | It sounds like they could try to kick him out. |
| 0:53.1 | I mean, that is the most direct threat, But there's an indirect threat as well as there |
| 0:57.4 | are two insurgent populist parties coming up his left flank and right flank. So it's not |
| 1:03.7 | an easy time to be him. All right, let's get into it. From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:10.3 | And I'm Tristan Redmond in London. |
| 1:13.1 | And today on the global story is Britain now ungovernable. |
| 1:26.7 | Well, my name is James Landale. |
| 1:28.5 | I am the diplomatic correspondent for BBC News, which means I sort of cover global affairs. |
| 1:34.1 | But in my deep hidden past, I was also a political correspondent and deputy political editor of the BBC. |
| 1:42.8 | So I spent a large amount of my life skulking in the corridors of Westminster. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.