Who Is Britain's Greatest Prime Minister?

Three hundred years ago this month, Robert Walpole became Britain’s first PM. To mark this huge moment in political history, we asked five historians to nominate the 10 leaders who they believe accomplished most during their residency in Number 10

Robert Walpole

In office 1721–42

Britain was desperate for a steady hand on the tiller following the turbulence of the 17th century. In its first prime minister, writes Jeremy Black, the nation found the right man for the job

When evaluating contributions to national life, we tend to have short memories, considering only recent history. There can also be a tendency to take national survival for granted and to remember instead those who manoeuvred to change the country. That was not a luxury offered Robert Walpole. During his two decades in power he delivered the stability Britain craved after a stormy period in its history.

Born in 1676, Walpole’s life encompassed the revolution that swept aside King James II and VII in 1688–89, the subsequent civil war in the British Isles, and repeated Jacobite conspiracies. War with France in 1689–97 and 1702–13, a conflict in which Walpole had served as secretary at war and treasurer of the navy, had been hazardous – although ultimately successful. And then the country had known the financial crash of the bursting of the South Sea Bubble.

Surviving these crises was difficult enough, but it was also necessary to prevent Britain from being the failed state it had repeatedly appeared to be in the 17th century. For that, a stable, efficient and robust system of government was required.