London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Margaret Thatcher to Theresa May: dramatic prime ministerial resignations

Tony Blair chose a Labour club in north-east England to announce his departure while David Cameron said he had to go after Brexit poll

The moment of a prime ministerial resignation has always been one of intense political drama, resulting in words and images that linger long in the memory.

Margaret Thatcher was applauded even by her detractors for a bullish Commons performance after she had announced that she would go, but the enduring image remains a woman in tears looking mournfully back at Downing Street as her car pulled away from the famous black door.

Tony Blair chose a Labour club in the north-east of England to announce his departure and reflect on his own weaknesses, while David Cameron left abruptly after the UK voted to leave the EU.

Theresa May, with her successor, Boris Johnson, snapping at her heels, was tearful as she expressed her gratitude for being able to serve the country she loved.


Margaret Thatcher, 22 November 1990


The UK’s first female prime minister announced her resignation on 22 November 1990 only days after stating she would stay in post, saying: “I fight, I fight to win.”

After coming under weeks of pressure, Thatcher informed the cabinet at 9am that she would step down as soon as the party elected a new leader. She went on to face the Commons at PMQs with a formidable performance, stating at one point “I’m enjoying this.”

Known as the Iron Lady, Thatcher was nonetheless in tears as she left Downing Street after 11 years, on 28 November 1990.

Speaking outside the black door, she said: “We’re leaving Downing Street for the last time after 11 and a half wonderful years and we’re happy to leave the UK in a very much better state than when we came here.”

She waved and got into the car with her husband, Denis. And as it pulled away, a photographer captured a haunting image of her looking out of the car window.


Tony Blair, 10 May 2007


After 10 years as prime minister, Blair announced he was stepping down in the unlikely location of Trimdon Labour Club.

In an emotional 17-minute speech, he said he would go on 27 June, saying the final judgment on his tenure was “for you, the people, to make”. He apologised for “the times I have fallen short”.

But he concluded: “Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong – that’s your call. But I did what I thought was right for our country.

“This country is a blessed country. The British are special. The world knows it, we know it, this is the greatest country on Earth.”


David Cameron, 24 June 2016


Cameron brought an abrupt end to his six-year premiership in 2016, after the British public rejected his entreaties and voted by a narrow margin to leave the EU.

Just a year after he gained a majority in the 2015 general election, Cameron stood outside No 10 with his wife, Samantha, and said: “The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered.”

Looking pale, but collected, he said the referendum was not about the future of “any single politician”, but because of the result, he had to go.

“[T]he British people made a different decision to take a different path,” he said. “As such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction.”


Theresa May, 24 May 2019


On 24 May 2019 Johnson’s direct predecessor announced her resignation, after months of chaos and insubordination among her own MPs and repeated attempts to get her plans for Brexit through parliament. May’s deal had been defeated three times when she finally stood down.

Speaking at the lectern outside Downing Street, an emotional May said it had been “the honour of my life” to serve as Britain’s second female prime minister.

Having strode to the lectern, her voice broke as she said she would leave “with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love”.

The prime minister listed a series of what she said were her government’s achievements, including tackling the deficit, reducing unemployment and boosting funding for mental health.

But she admitted: “It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.”

As of Wednesday 6 July, Boris Johnson had been prime minister for precisely four weeks less than Theresa May managed. May, who wore a ballgown to Johnson’s confidence vote, could be tempted to once again dust off the sparkles.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×