‘I quit’: political resignation moments over the years - from Churchill and Thatcher to Blair and Sturgeon
Leaders have stepped down throughout the years due to scandals, ill health and discord within their political parties
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced today, (Wednesday 15 February), that she intends to resign after eight years in her post.
Sturgeon’s resignation came as a complete surprise to many - even those within her own party - but she joins other political leaders from across the UK who have quit their jobs over the last seven decades.
The last year especially has been a time of unprecedented political upheaval in the UK, with the country going through three Prime Ministers in a matter of months.
We take a look at political leaders who have stepped down, and their resignation speeches, in the gallery below.
1. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister in April 1955. Churchill had served in the role twice, between 1940 and 1945 and again between 1951 and 1955. He stepped down at the age of 80 because he was aware that his health was declining. In a letter written to Conservative Party politician John Harvey, he said: “For some time past I have not felt that at my age it would be right for me to incur such new and indefinite responsibilities. It is necessary therefore in the public interest that my successor should enter his duties in reasonable time to present himself and his programme to the Nation as and when he chooses. I have therefore tendered my resignation to The Queen.”
2. Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden, Churchill’s successor, resigned less than two years after he entered office as a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis. This was an international crisis in the Middle East that happened when the then Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalised the Suez Canal. Many didn’t approve of Eden’s Suez policy when he created it, and then those who did approve of it weren’t impressed when it came to an abrupt end. His ill health also led to his official resignation in January 1957. Following advice from doctors he said he would quit, adding: "I do not feel that it is right for me to continue in the office as the Queen's First Minister knowing that I shall be unable to do my full duty by my Sovereign and the country."
3. Harold Macmillan
Eden’s successor, Harold Macmillan, resigned as Prime Minister in 1963 after five years in the job due to the John Profumo affair scandal. Profumo was Macmillan’s Secretary of State for War. He denied that he had an affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler beginning in the House of Commons but a police investigation revealed he had lied. This led to Macmillan’s reputation being tainted and he resigned a short time later, also citing health problems.
4. Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She was forced to resign due to a challenge being launched to her leadership by former defence and environment secretary Michael Heseltine. Speaking outside Downing Street on the day she stepped down in November 1990, she said: “We're leaving Downing Street for the last time after eleven-and-a-half wonderful years, and we're very happy that we leave the United Kingdom in a very, very much better state than when we came here eleven and a half years ago. It's been a tremendous privilege to serve this country as Prime Minister.”