Britain has had five prime ministers in the last six years. Five. John Major thinks that’s a problem, and frankly, it’s hard to argue with him.
The former Conservative prime minister, who himself survived more than a few political storms during his time in Downing Street in the 1990s, has spoken out against the revolving door at the top of British politics. Speaking to the BBC, Major warned that the constant churn of political leadership is doing real damage, particularly to younger generations who are being failed by politicians too focused on short-term survival to tackle the long-term challenges that actually matter.
“Political leaders are letting young people down,” Major said, arguing that issues like housing, climate change, and economic opportunity require consistency and vision that simply can’t take root when governments are constantly destabilised from within.
It’s a pointed observation from a man who knows the inside of a Conservative Party implosion better than most. His own government was famously torn apart by European divisions, and he watched from the sidelines as the party repeated the same self-destruction decades later, dispatching Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak in rapid succession.
Truss, of course, lasted just 45 days. Her premiership was shorter than the average shelf life of a supermarket lettuce, a comparison a certain tabloid made rather memorably at the time.
Major’s criticism cuts across party lines. The instability isn’t purely a Tory affliction; Labour went through its own turmoil in the late 2010s. But the sheer frequency of recent changes has left many voters feeling like they’re watching a carousel that never quite stops long enough for anyone to actually govern.
Young people in particular, Major argues, deserve better. They’re inheriting a housing crisis, a creaking NHS, and an economy that offers far less security than the one his generation stepped into. Sorting those things out takes years of sustained political will, not 18-month stints followed by a leadership contest.
Keir Starmer is now barely a year into his time at Number 10. Whether the era of chaotic musical chairs is truly over, or just pausing for breath, remains the most interesting question in British politics right now.
